


Cats And Coffee

by TunaaBabee



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coffee Shops, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, Infrequent Updates, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May/May Not Change, Slow Burn, Sollux is a Reddit hermit, humanstuck AU, longfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-17 14:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4670666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TunaaBabee/pseuds/TunaaBabee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas has been an angrier asshole than usual in the past few months and doesn't want to talk about it.</p>
<p>Terezi Pyrope has been broken down but is putting on a smile and trying to get her life back together. Hopefully.</p>
<p>This is a story of cats, coffee and too many interactions with annoying-ass neighbours.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Straight Black

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first longfic and I am so sorry if it is atrocious. Loosely based (and including) off the OTP prompt where Person A has a cat and Person B doesn't realise catnip is growing in their yard and meet because the cat keeps coming back and B has to return it to A.
> 
> Also, Sollux has a lisp. Warning you now.

God, Karkat hated it when people moved in. The noise, the ruckus, the god damn people and their seeming inability to collate themselves into a single team to get a shitty, boring job done. This person, whoever they were, had decided it would be a nice fucking idea to haul their ass into the house next door after his cousin Kanaya decided to move in with her girlfriend, Rose, into an apartment more towards the city. Usually he and Kanaya would shoot the shit, hang around and gossip before Karkat was comforted whilst he cried for the millionth time at the same god damn romcom.

Having his cousin live next door was actually pretty nice for Karkat - one of the few people he could actually tolerate and enjoy their company without having to be polite. Usually quite abrasive and grumpy, Karkat found himself scowling at the pages of the novel he was reading, unable to concentrate whatsoever.

“God, would you hurry the fuck up?” he mumbled under his breath, firmly shutting his book and tossing it onto his desk before getting up and looking out of the window of his bedroom and into the front yard. It was blindingly bright, but then again, he’d barely emerged from his room all day. Once the glare had subsided, he could see four women hurriedly scurrying back and forth from the moving van and bringing box after box and various bits of furniture into the house. Shit, he had to at least hand it to them for effort. He knew how much hard work moving was, he’d had to do it most of his life.

The flurry of movement made it too hard to make out a lot of the features of the people carrying everything in and out, plus he was quickly losing interest and he intended for it to stay that way. He didn’t want to say hello, he didn’t want to get to know them, nothing. They simply lived next to him and that was that. Besides, considering more recent events, he’d rather not be out fraternizing with the opposite sex for a while - at least in the romantic sense. But that wasn’t the point here, nor was it something he really wanted to think about right now. He was already having a hard enough time moving past her.

Shutting his blinds, Karkat heard the growl of his stomach and grumbled before proceeding to pull his lazy ass out of his room and move on over into the kitchen, pulling out some leftovers or another before sitting on the couch beside his roommate, Sollux.

“Well, shit, thomeone finally dethided to thtop moping around for the day. How’re you doing?”

“Oh, fuck you, you have no fucking right to say anything considering your girlfriend’s probably still sleeping.”

Sollux gave a little shrug and sighed, looking over at Karkat before messing up his already atrocious bedhead of dark auburn hair. Scowling, he got up and headed into the kitchen when he heard activity up in the hallway - yup, his assumption was completely right. Lo and behold, Aradia emerged a few moments later, a large shirt on with Sollux’s bee boxers hanging low on her hips and her messy, thick rusty hair trailing behind her in a low ponytail.

“Morning guys..” She gave a sleepy little yawn, placing herself down on the couch where Karkat once was before throwing her legs over Sollux’s lap and kissing his cheek. “I’m surprised you’re out of bed at this hour, Karkat.”

“Ha-fucking-ha, who isn’t. Eugh. It’s not like I have a choice to peacefully stay in bed and read when the person moving in next door won’t shut the fuck up and finish piling their shit inside.”

Karkat gave a glance over as he began to pull out some shitty two dollar mac and cheese from their worn cupboards to see that neither of them were paying attention. Typical, they were always quite lovey-dovey with one another. Even the way they met was one gigantic fucking cliche - after having some intense teenage angst and romantic drama you’d see in the shittiest of romcoms and was way too overstrung, they got together and stayed together as high school sweethearts. Right now, even the thought made him sick.

“You know what, fuck this, I’m going out.” He tossed the container onto the bench, Sollux looking over in surprise.

“Holy shit, you’re actually gonna go out and make thomewhat of an effort not to be an antithocial fuck?”

“Hey, hold the fuck up, I never said that. I merely said I was going out. Not exactly in the peachiest fucking mood to be barraged with the sight of you two kissing and cuddling and shit.”

“Thuit yourthelf. Don’t burn up in the thunlight, buddy.” As the blonde-haired asshole gave a chuckle, Karkat promptly flipped him off before stamping off to his room to get changed. It was hard to wade through all of the strewn around dirty clothes in his room, but he eventually made his way to his wardrobe and changed into something half-presentable, at least for this sort of neighbourhood where it was sleepy and nobody gave two fucks so long as you didn’t bother them.

With a dissatisfied grunt, Karkat quickly slipped out the front door, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto his feet instead of looking at the annoying assholes moving in. He paid no real mind to where he was going - it was a small town, so it wasn’t hard to get to know where you were quite quickly. He rounded a couple corners, before looking up and seeing he was heading towards the local and small businesses. Perfect.

It was pretty lazy around this time of day - it was a weekend and nobody really wanted to get up and be productive with their time. It was a straight street, lined with many small businesses with the big supermarkets towards the end of the street. He growled under his breath at the harsh sunlight hitting his eyes - he really wasn’t one for the midday sun. Quickly pushing his way into the little coffee shop, he gave a sigh of relief as the comforting smell of coffee hit his nose.

It was a quaint little place, quite cosy. The open layout was warm and inviting and the coffee they served here was better than any shit he could get from a crappy commercial Starbucks. In this small town where everyone knew each other’s name whether you wanted them to or not, he found that here and his house were the only places of real solace he could find.

“Home sweet home,” he mumbled under his breath, approaching the counter and ordering his usual pitch black coffee and a doughnut before sitting down in his favorite spot - the corner just beside the window. Sure, everyone could see him, but it was warm and he didn’t give a fuck. Sitting back in the old chair, he couldn’t help but think back to the new neighbour - as much as he didn’t want to partake in whatever business they had, he had to admit there was some small part of him that wanted to know who they were.

His coffee being placed down in front of him snapped him out of his thoughts, giving a small nod of thanks before starting to drink it. God, why did Kanaya have to move?


	2. Persian Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Karkat's annoying new neighbour - college dropout Terezi Pyrope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, chapter two! I was working on this almost the moment I published the first chapter, so this is hot off the presses, people.
> 
> edit 12/11/2017: hey y'all it's been ages but ive reworded and reworked a few segments here and there of this chapter because i really wasnt happy with how it was written and how it read - it's been smth that's been bugging me for a long long time! the content is still mostly untouched, but long time readers might notice the changes i've made. enjoy!

This town seemed like a good choice to move to and she was determined to keep thinking that way regardless of what life threw at her. She knew she was strong and she could do it, not to mention having her mother and sister willing to help her out at any and all times that she needed them. Which was, currently, moving her stuff into her new house.

It was pretty good quality for such a low price, probably because this was a small, long-standing town. Regardless, she wasn’t going to question it. She was here, she had a fresh start ahead of her and she was going to take it.

There weren’t many boxes to go now, and Terezi couldn't wait to busy her mind with unpacking her new house and getting everything absolutely and perfectly in place. Vriska gave another groan as she came back out with Latula to grab the very last couch, her pitch black hair glistening slightly with sweat and her seriously fucked electric blue streak looking even worse than usual - the memory of watching her bleach and dye that disaster in high school manage to get a quiet chuckle out of her under her breath. “Jesus fucking christ, I’m surprised you have so much shit, Tez.”

“Language, young lady.” Terezi’s mother raised her eyebrows towards Vriska in a concerning manner, Vriska sighing and mumbling a sorry before her and Latula heaved up the couch and began to take it inside. Terezi was looking at the last box, feeling quite odd about this all of a sudden. It was good that she had left. She had to leave. Whether it was fate, chance or mere luck, she'd been given an opportunity to build a life for herself anew that not many people got. But that wasn’t something to dwell on - while she may not be a lawyer like she wanted to be anymore, she had better prospects here. Hopefully. She felt her mother’s hand rest lightly on her shoulder, giving it a gentle tap after a moment. “C’mon, dear. Let’s get this inside. You don’t need to worry.”

“Yeah, I know...” Terezi gave a small, strained smile before kissing her cheek and grabbing the box, heading inside. It was an average sized place with a fairly open layout, but quite cozy. All of the boxes had been sorted into their respective rooms by Vriska when she wanted to try and stall bringing in the next piece of furniture, Latula taking the liberty of arranging the place for her. All in all, it wasn’t too bad and she could definitely get used to living here.

“Sis! Doesn’t the place look rad?” An excited Latula bounded out of the kitchen, her short sleeves rolled up and bleach-blonde hair in a bun, exposing more of the trademark pale Pyrope skin. Terezi gave a small little nod with a chuckle at her enthusiasm, soon enough being pulled into an excited hug.

She hugged back after a moment of slight surprise, holding her tightly. “Yeah, it really really does - you did a great job with the place. I love it.” Terezi sniffled slightly, but managed to hold back tears; this was a really big moment for her. She was independent, she was free. After pulling out of the hug, she went and sat herself down onto the couch. Today had taken quite a bit out of her and she needed a bit of a rest before continuing, they all did. The smallest Pyrope sat her dainty frame in the middle of the couch with a relieved sigh, taking her brunette hair out of the ponytail it was in and leaning her head on the back of the couch.

As excited and relieved as Terezi was to finally be here, she couldn't help but dwell a bit on all the shit she'd ended up putting her family through before they'd ended up here. It was good that she finally had some independence from them - in her eyes, not only did she get to feel better about herself again, but she would be less of her burden on her mother and her sister. She had to force the train of thought away, not wanting to drag herself down into a spiral; not when there were loved ones here and there was still so much work to do. Her mother, known affectionately as ‘Redglare’ by her work colleagues as well as friends and family alike, came in with her cat carrier in hand. The tall woman made Terezi look almost like a younger carbon copy of her - almost the same shade of hair, albeit slightly longer and tainted with dyes and a bony, sharp figure. Whilst Terezi was not nearly as angled, it wasn’t hard to see the similarities. Latula, on the other hand was a little more rounded, more relaxed and sprawling out on the seat next to her whilst her mother brought out Terezi’s cat.

“Oh, can’t believe we almost forgot the poor lil’ gal. Sorry, Nep.” She got up from her spot, quickly unlatching the cat carrier before picking up her brown fluffball of a pet. She’d had the cat for a little while now, naming it after a friend of hers in high school that she barely got to see. Either way, it was a lazy little shit and she loved it to bits. Sitting back down, her mother and Vriska found their own chairs and they all just took a moment to sit back and relax a bit. It had been one hell of a long day and there was a lot of work still to do in the house, especially on Terezi’s part. She knew she could handle it, though - she had to be able to handle it.

“Can’t believe we managed to get all this done in the span of a day - it’s not even dark yet. How you feeling about all this, Tez?” Vriska sat up a little, looking over at her with a raised eyebrow but evidently concerned look from behind her wide glasses.

“I... I’m feeling good. I think. I am happy to be here, it’s just... It’s a really fucking big change. I’ll be okay, but it just all feels really surreal. Especially with how fast this move was and everything.”

“It’s okay to feel strange about all this, dear. We all understand why you would and you have every right to. But Vriska will be visiting all the time and your sister and I are always on call if you need us. You don’t need to be entirely independent straight away, Terezi.”

She gave a nod, head resting on her mother’s shoulder with a sigh. “I know. But I just wanna get back to normal as soon as possible. I don’t wanna feel like some porcelain doll.”

They sat there in quiet for a few moments longer before they all dissipated with some awkwardness into different rooms and started unpacking boxes. They got a few rooms done in a couple hours - most of the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and started on a few others - before the three had to set off. Making sure Terezi was acutely aware that they were on call if she needed them, Terezi quickly ushered them out. As much as she knew it was out of care, she just couldn’t help but be reminded of horrible, vile things instead. She stood by the door a few minutes longer before giving a heavy sigh and trudging up to her room before falling back onto her bed, eyelids heavy.

Today had been one hell of a long day and she had a feeling that for a while, the next few weren’t gonna be any different. But that didn’t matter.

She was here.

She was okay.

She was _safe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! What do you think brought Terezi here?
> 
> Regardless, please leave constructive criticism and the like in the comments and stay tuned. I don't know when the next chapter will be, especially with school having picked up a little, but I assure you it will be soon.


	3. Double Espresso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat comes back home to relax, only to be bothered by incessant fucking scratching at his back door. Yes, they have a backyard! It is truly a miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ Happy Karezi Day! ~
> 
> The sacred day of the ultimate OTP. Fuck, do I love this ship. Let us revel in fanfic, fanart and pretend Hussie isn't a complete jackass who hates us all.
> 
> Also, the rating's been boosted to Teen for the implied Sollux & Aradia sexy times.
> 
> EDIT: Chapter 4 is in the midst of being written - school and emotional shit has really picked up, but I'm getting my shit together and it will be ready soon.
> 
> EDIT 2: oh my good god school is ending soon but depression has decided to pay me one hell of a visit please bear with me i am so sorry

* * *

 

_“K-Karkat, I-I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”_

_“Wait, what do you mean you can’t do this? Surely I can do so--”_

_“No. No, it’s done. I’m done. We’re done. And by the morning, I’ll be gone.”_

_“You- You can’t be serious. We can work something out, please.”_

_“We can’t because I don’t love you, okay?! Not anymore...”_

 

* * *

 

 

By the time he had decided to begrudgingly exit the coffee shop, the sun hadn’t gone down much, but the air had started to get a small chill to it, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking forward. Karkat was feeling significantly less irate than before - that place always worked wonders for his mood in any situation and he gave a small, relieved sigh. The dull shuffle of his feet and the faint rumble of car engines as they drove on by was soothing and had always made him feel quite at home and relaxed - one of the reasons he liked quiet towns, especially this one.

As he approached his house, he spotted that the moving van was no longer there, giving a small “Fuck yes,” under his breath. At least he knew that there wasn’t gonna be anymore blundering dumbfucks making a fuss and being the thorn firmly jammed up his ass - that was his job to irritate himself. Him and Sollux, anyway. Fishing his keys out and unlocking the door, he kicked off his shoes at the entrance and proceeded to plant his ass firmly on the couch in mere moments. Netflix sounded pretty fucking good right now, and before he knew it, he found himself watching a tried and true classic romcom and one of his personal favourites - Miss Congeniality. Yes, it is true, it was ridiculously girly for most people’s tastes, but Karkat was not most people and he honestly couldn’t give two fucks. At least the movie covered up the low thuds that would be heard echoing down the hall from Sollux’s room on occasion. He really didn’t need to hear that now, or on any day to be quite honest.

A small smile was on Karkat’s face as he watched, one he didn’t even realize was there but it was one that crept onto his face even slightly anytime he watched any of these things. He didn’t have to think about anything else, just simply rooting for these characters to be happy regardless of whether he had seen the ending or not. But that smile immediately disappeared when he swore to god, he could hear scratching. Why the fuck is there scratching. Jesus christ. Karkat whipped his head around both ways, trying to look for some sort of source, but alas was unable to find one.

“Jesus fuck, I swear it was real...” He gave a little grumble, deeply frowning and a scowl now stuck on his face. Tugging the blanket toward him from the other end of the couch, he spread it over himself before readjusting. He was going to watch this damn movie in peace if it killed him. It didn’t take him long to fall into the swing of the movie again, because god knows how easily romcoms got his attention. For fuck’s sake, now he was even quoting the movie. “Hm hm hm hmmm hm, hm hm hm hmmm hm, you want to hug me, you want to love me, you want to hu--”

Oh dear. Here came the scratching again, only a fair bit more persistent and quite a bit louder. It made a slightly sickening, squeaky raking sound and Karkat had already had it. “God _fucking dammit_ , I swear to god, I am _this fucking close_ to throwing the fucking shitty-ass coffee pot!” He shoved the blanket aside angrily, gritting his teeth before going out of his way to find where all this god damn scratching was coming from. Letting out a growl, he made sure to scour every inch of the fucking living room, although he managed to neglect the one part that none of the people who went through this house ever seemed to use - the backdoor. Yes, what a surprise! Neither Karkat nor Sollux had ever actually been into their backyard. Not while they lived here, anyway. There was maybe one time while they were looking at the house, but even then it was a rushed in-and-out ordeal that they made sure not to go through again. They tended to view the blinds as a part of the walls and called it a night.

So when Karkat realized that the scratching was coming from that vague direction it clicked - why in the living fuck was there something at the backdoor? It was probably overgrown out there.. Would he have to go out there? He really didn’t wanna go out there. That chill would have turned into bone-chilling cold by now and oh my god there may be spiders and gross things out there. Reluctantly and with a hint of fear, he got the blind draw and tugged at it gently, slowly now. Whatever horrid and likely rabid thing Karkat found scratching at the glass behind that curtain, Karkat was not prepared for it.

...Not until he saw a cat. It was just simply a cat.

What in the dick-chafing _fuck_ was a cat doing in his god-awful backyard?

It wasn’t even that special - a brownish-grey, fluffy annoyance that left Karkat incredibly confused. Where even did this god damn cat come from? Okay. No. He’s not letting this pesky little shit in. Did Sollux even know about this cat? He probably did, the snarky asshole. Without a second thought, he rushed up the hall and thumped his fist on the door a couple times.

“Sollux, you asswipe, have you seen a cat around our place before?”

There was a groan and couple grunts from behind the door. “Ugh, fuck off, KK, I-I’m really fucking buthy right now!”

“You should know by now that I don’t give two shits if you’re balls deep, I want to know if there’s been a cat around our place because all of a sudden there’s one scratching at our fucking backdoor!”

“N-No, agh, fuck, jutht-- fu-fucking wait, KK, god!”

“Ugh, fine!” Karkat’s scowl merely deepened as he trod back off to the couch, waiting for Sol. As he sat down, he looked back at the cat which had still remained at the backdoor, sitting there and tilting it’s head slightly like a cocky little motherfucker. God, he was really starting to hate this cat. He began to glare slightly at the cat, wanting nothing more than to kick it out onto the street. Was he being literal? Probably, but who knows. Either way, Sollux emerged a few moments later, zipping up his pants and pushing his hair back.

“You better not be bullshitting me, I wath in the middle of thome very... important thingth.”

“Just look at the smug bastard. _Look at him!”_ He pointed angrily at the small hairball, letting out a small growl. Sollux took a good look at him, frowning slightly.

“Shit, I forgot we even had a backyard... Well, either way, I haven’t theen the little shit that interrupted my important activitieth around anywhere. Now, if you’ll excuthe me, I’m heading back to bed.”

“Yeah, fuck you too, Sol.” He gave a chuckle as he headed back to his room, Karkat still staring at this asshole cat. “There is no fucking way I am letting you in here,” He grumbled, turning back to the TV and beginning to look for another movie.

 

...Since when was there a fucking cat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to fucking god, editing this chapter in the AO3 editor is my own personal hell. Regardless, Chapter 4 will be at the very least in the works very soon!


	4. Exotic Shorthair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, they finally meet. Although it's not nearly as rosy as one would like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to come out, my depression has been really playing right the fuck up on me lately. Please enjoy, I worked hard to get this out for you all!
> 
> EDIT: omg i am so sorry i havent put anything out and holidays are almost over but hhhhh i am so sorry i promise i have a plan

* * *

 

_“What? No, no, surely you can’t be serious.”_

_“Why would I joke about this?”_

_“Tez, yo-you’ve told some pretty convincing lies as part of a way to get back at me before, a-are you su--”_

_“Do I look like I’m kidding!? Why can’t you just believe me? It’s hard enough to talk about as it is... I’m putting myself in fucking **danger** by talking about this, Vriska.”_

_“L-Look, we’ll... We’ll figure something out.”_

 

* * *

 

The last thing Terezi wanted to wake up to was her friend making herself comfortable on her couch, TV at nearly maximum volume as she helped herself to what little food she had in her kitchen right now. How did Vriska even get in here? Why the fuck was she here in the first place? So many questions for so early in the morning and it made her head feel a little like it was spinning - it was already weird enough having to get used to waking up in a completely foreign place to her, at least for a while. Having not gotten much good sleep last night, Terezi found herself half mumbling a sleepy ‘what the fuck’ under her breath before feeling her way out to the kitchen and grabbing the first edible thing in her fridge.

“G’moooooooorning, sis. How’s the day treating you, hm?”

“Mmrph..”

“Ah, I see you’re still not entirely up to talking yet. Surprise surprise.”

“Ugh, cut the shit..” She frowned deeply, grabbing a fork before opening up the container of her mother’s cooking and starting to dig in. She shuffled over to the couch, sitting herself beside the presumably-comfortable Vriska, considering she was sprawled out over much of the couch and left very little room for Terezi. Typical. She made use of a skill she had spent quite a long time perfecting and made herself as small as possible before beginning to eat. Just even performing the action made her feel a bit sick, but hey, the food will probably calm that. It’s just new move jitters. Yep. Definitely it.

“Don’t get so grumpy with me, it’s not my fault you slept until fucking one in the afternoon.”

Giving a small sound of confusion, she placed the container aside and snatched Vriska’s phone. Sure enough, it wasn’t too far past one and Terezi gave a hum of annoyed disapproval. The jolt Vriska’s incredibly loud and guitar-riff laden ringtone instilled into her was something fierce, flailing the phone onto the air and fumbling around with it before Vriska caught it with a quiet cackle and answered it.

“Hello? Yeah, yeah, I’m here. She just woke up. Hah, she’s fine, although my ringtone scared the living _shit_ outta her, hahaha! Oh come on, I’m just joking, Mrs Pyrope, you should know that... A girl can’t have a little fun?” 

As Vriska continued to chat and get slightly annoyed with her mother, Terezi rolled her eyes and slowly got up, slinking her way back upstairs and into the bathroom. Quietly shutting the door behind her, she slipped out of her pyjamas and turned on the shower, taking a deep breath of the steam as the water quickly started to heat up. At least there was something she could appreciate despite the tainting factor of Vriska’s mere presence in her house. As much as she appreciated the things her friend had done for her recently, she really knew how to make her feel... uncomfortable, to say the least. And that really was the least. But none of that needed to matter now. She was by herself, the door was locked, Vriska was busy and the shower beckoned.

The comforting warmth of the water washing over her felt absolutely wonderful, closing her eyes and completely letting herself relax. It was perfect for a mere moment, the only thoughts clouding her head being how nice the water felt dripping down her skin. But that moment of clarity gave way to what she had been holding in for a little while - she knew she had begun to cry. The weight of lead on her lungs let themselves lighten a little as she quietly sobbed, sitting herself down on the shower floor and holding her knees to her chest. As much as she refused to admit it in front of anyone else, Terezi was weak right now. This whole situation felt like she was a mere child - a person sent to supervise and dote on her, to prevent her from getting too out of control to keep her safe after so much had already done out of concern for her. As her head gently fell forward to rest against her knees, too many thoughts and emotions raced through her head. She was still scared, scared of being alone and having to be independent again despite how much she wanted to stand up on her own just like she used to. There was so much confusion on how she was just going to move forward and pretend she was always alright as well as uncertainty - god, she hated not knowing her next move and what was going to come. The unknown really had always scared her. With a deep breath she brought herself to her feet, ready to try and compose herself once again. She switched off the shower and quickly dried off, not wanting to leave Vriska alone too long with her belongings. God knows she’d pilfer something for herself when she wasn’t looking. Throwing on the clothes she had picked up, she looked at least half decent by the time she headed downstairs and started to head back to the living room.

“Terezi, your mom is such a pain in the a--”

Knock knock.

“...Did you hear that? Oh my god, what if it’s your mom.” Vriska muttered it quietly, as if she had seen a ghost while Terezi froze with irrational fear. Another, harsher bout of knocking on the door snapped her out of it, Vriska quickly retreating into the kitchen whilst Terezi answered the door. Psh, what a protective friend. Terezi took a peer through the window by the door, seeing a slightly taller, angry looking guy at her door. Who the fuck is this?

Opening the door, she had a concerned frown on her face as she quickly looked him over. He didn’t look that bad. A little skinny, but not bad. Either way, his presence here confused her and was tentative about even talking. “Uh, c-can I help yo--”

“Is this your fucking cat?” He shoved his arms forward, Nep sure enough being safe in his arms and nuzzling his hoodie some. God, that cat always was looking for attention.

“What? O-Oh, yeah, heh, sorry.” The laughter was quite nervous and forced as she took Nep from his arms, rolling her eyes a little at how her cat had already managed to piss off the presumably-neighbor before putting her down. “She’s a bit of an adventurous one, s-sorry.”

“Whatever. Just keep your cat in your fucking yard, alright? I didn’t even wanna come over here in the first place. Or ever.”

“Wow. You really know how to talk to a lady. Besides, how’d you even know that she was mine?”

“New cat, new neighbor, makes sense. What are you, an idiot? It's only logic."

"Well, sorry for not being completely in the right headspace after just moving in."

“Oh, fuck off. I’m leaving, have a shitty-ass day.”

“...You too.” With slight confusion, she closed the door slowly, still slightly amazed at how abrasive her neighbor seemed to be. Who even does that? Vriska poked her head out from behind the kitchen counter, having hidden behind it just in case. If anyone here was the child right now, it was most definitely her.

“...That wasn’t your mom, was it?”

“What? No. That was my neighbor... I think.”

“What the fuck did they want?” Terezi groaned a little before picking up Nep, placing her on couch.

“The furball made her way over there somehow.” Vriska shrugged, moving to raid her cupboards again whilst Terezi sat herself beside Nep, fingers gently raking through her fur.

What a neighborhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God dammit Nep. I get off school for holidays in a few days, so expect more chapters really soon!


	5. Half-Cream Mocha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat's encounter with the new neighbour was already bad enough. Now add Sollux into the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, it's almost been a month since I updated and I am so sorry. Motivation and ideas decided to take a holiday while depression and I became and still are very well acquainted. I do hope you like this chapter, it took a bit of effort to get off the ground without it being pointless fluffy filler.
> 
> Have a good day! <3
> 
> EDIT: I'm coming up with a cohesive fic plan and will hopefully have another chapter out at least before my exams start. This is gonna be quite slow burning, but I'll try and pick up the pace to keep it interesting still.

The angry slamming of the door was the first and most evident marker of Karkat’s frustrated and grumbly return from his run-in with the brown-haired girl who’d just moved in next door. What was her fucking deal? It should be simple enough to keep tabs on her cat and keep it inside, holy shit. She could just teach the fuzzy asshole to eat and shit inside, boom, done, no more bother for him. This cat issue was really eating away at him, getting a feeling that this was definitely bound to happen again deep in his bones. Or as Sollux liked to call it, his ‘douchebag sense is tingling’. What an asshat. His best friend, but still an asshat.

Speaking of him, Sollux was busy tapping away on his laptop, doing one of the multitude of online jobs he took on to make ‘easy’ money. Yeah, easy for him. Karkat couldn’t code for shit and everybody knew it. Last time he tried to code a program in an effort to try and match up, he miraculously managed to crash his own computer trying to run whatever bullshit he had conjured up. For all he knew, he probably accidentally had made a virus. Either way, the experience had been rather offputting, making Karkat’s face contort into one of displeasure as he sat beside him, viewing the code and commands lining Sol’s laptop screen. “You theem happy, Karkat. Where’d you even go off to? I mean, it mutht have been thuch a great exthperienth becauth you’re jutht tho cheerful right now.” Cue the snickers from the lispy boy.

Karkat feebly punched him in the arm, emitting a small growl of annoyance at him. For his best friend, he really was an asshole. “Like you’d have faired any better, especially in my position.”

“And ith that pothition ‘heartbroken athhole who can’t thay or do anything without the thlightetht hint of anger in it’?”

“Ye-- I mean, no! Jesus christ. I mean from the position that I had to interact with the new neighbours who I _specifically wanted nothing to do with_ to return their asshole cat!”

“Aww, poor KK! Having to return thomeone’th cat like a regular neighbour might have to. Boo hoo.”

Karkat scowled deeply, huffing with a slight gnash of his teeth. “Sol, I don’t think you understand. This person interrupted my morning yesterday with their insanely noisy shit by the window. This person’s idiotic cat made its way into our backyard and was scratching at the door _**all fucking night**_. It took literally every ounce of patience I have, which as you know there is next to none of! So don’t tell me _‘boo fucking hoo’_ when I have had to put up with more ridiculous fucking folly from them in the past forty-eight hours than I have had to take from you when you first moved in which, may I remind you, was a **hell of a fucking lot!”**

There was a brief moment of silence. Sollux had both eyebrows raised, a seemingly questioning look on his face before that stupid fucking smirk crawled onto his face that told anybody that he was about to get right under his skin. “Wow, ‘ridiculous fucking folly’? Look at you now, Karkat the raging thethpian.”

Giving a frustrated grunt that was evidently masking a screech of sheer seething anger before letting out a heavy sigh and folding his arms. “Fuck you and your bullshit. All I can do is just hope her and her cat don’t bother me again because jesus fucking _christ_ , I feel like I’m about to flip shit.”

A misplaced pause in Sollux’s movements brought him to Karkat’s attention. He was slowly closing his laptop, putting it aside before slowly turning his body around to face Karkat some more looking genuinely surprised. “ _ **Her?**_ My my my, you’re already back in the game? I mutht admit, I am thurprithed, but _nithe_. Ith she cute?” His eyebrows were wiggling furiously which was in direct contrast with Karkat’s which were knitted together angrily.

With a roll of his eyes and a scoff, Karkat gave a kick to his foot. “Who fucking cares? I’m not looking for anyone and I won’t be for a long while, so you can shove your presumptions of being ‘back in the game’ firmly up your ass.”

“You never answered my question.”

“Ugh, I don’t know, maybe? I guess? I didn’t pay much attention to her, I was too busy worrying about getting her cat out of my arms and away from me so I could get all of it’s fucking hair off of my shirt!”

Sollux snickered before leaning in as if he was a gossiping housewife with nothing else to do. “Tell me what she looked like, then.”

Groan. “Ugh... Shorter than me. Like, just above chin height. Small. Super pale, brownish hair I guess? Jesus christ, I feel like a fucking schoolgirl, are we really doing this?”

“Yeth, keep going.”

Well, it would shut him up. “Fine. Weird red pointed glasses. Slightly... angled, I guess? In some spots? But she’s super frail. Am I done now?”

“Oh fine, but you’re no fun.”

“Thank you.” Karkat stood from the couch, about to go up to his room to grab a book when he felt a small tug on his shirt. He whipped around, almost shouting in his face. “What, what do you want Sollux!?”

Sollux pointed at his chest, moving his eyebrows vigorously up and down. Karkat instantly knew what he meant and gave a small snarl. “I’m not answering that.”

“Oh come oooon! Pleeeathe?”

“I wasn’t even looking, so fuck you.” And with that, Karkat strode off into his room. He sat down on his bed a moment, taking a couple moments to breathe and push back his hair. For a ‘best friend’, Sollux seemed to take all too much pleasure in getting under his skin. Still loved the motherfucker, though.

He grabbed a well-worn copy of one of his guilty pleasures - one of the books from A Series Of Unfortunate Events - and went back out, sitting himself away from Sollux in the separate recliner. Sollux threw a mere suggestive glance, to which he responded with a fierce middle finger. He settled into the seat, a single earphone in his ear playing relatively quiet music as he opened up to reread this book for god-knows many times and gave a gentle sigh.

At first it was peaceful, eyes coasting over the words on the page with a subtle smile, trying his best to immerse himself within the story despite knowing it so well. Sollux didn’t bother him, he didn’t bother Sollux, life was pretty fucking good at that point. Then he heard it.

 

Scratch.

_Scratch._

_**Scratch.** _

 

No. No, no, no, no, no, he seriously _just got rid of it_. It can’t be. Surely it’s not going to be that stupid, disgusting pile of hair for a cat. Ever so slowly he removed the earphone, placing it in his book as a bookmark. Closing the novel, he got up and left it on his chair as he got up and cautiously approached the door once more. God, this felt like deja vu. Pulling back the blinds suddenly, there was sure enough the same brown hairball pawing at the door, stopping once it looked up at Karkat standing there behind the door. Oddly enough, there was a folded paper taped to its collar as well. What the fuck?

“..You know what? Fuck this. I fucking hate you so much but I’m gonna let you in anyway, you little asshole. Hopefully you’ll shut the fuck up. God, I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He was mumbling this quietly as he looked down at the cat, squinting in annoyance as he opened the door and it trotted inside with a small little mewl. It grabbed the attention of Sollux, turning around somewhat and frowning in slight confusion.

“Ith that the cat from yethterday? I thought you weren’t go--”

“Don’t you dare say one more god damn word, Sollux.”

He went back to his coding with a nonchalant shrug as Karkat bent down, plucking the paper off of it’s collar, the nametag showing itself engraved with the name ‘Nep’. Raising an eyebrow, he unfolded the note and the contents left him more confused than when he let the cat in in the first place.

 

Hey asshole,  
I heard you liked cats. ::::)  
\- AG

 

Who the fuck was AG and why were they sending him this cat? It seems like it would be the neighbour? It’s gotta be the neighbor, right? With a groan he placed the note on the kitchen counter. He’d deal with this shit another time. For now, Lemony Snicket beckoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed and I realise in retrospect how gratuitous my use of bolds and italics were in this chapter. Whew.
> 
> Either way, please feel free to leave me comments, feedback and constructive criticism - it really makes my day!


	6. Siberian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terezi explores the town a little more and finds herself in a very familiar coffee shop for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I updated before the month was through, what a surprise!  
> It is actually a legitimate surprise to me. Either way, I am trying my best to make sure to make sure these chapters aren't just necessarily shitty filler and rather flesh everything out a little more and drive everything forward. There's gonna be quite a few timeskips ahead as I need to make sure there's a realistic timeframe between events and nothing slows down too much.
> 
> Regardless, please enjoy this chapter - it's been a bitch to work on.

The past week or so that she’d spent in this town hadn’t been that bad - nothing eventful but nothing bad at all. Vriska had often dropped by as well as Latula and her mother, saying that they were going to come visiting most weeks and keep an eye on her. All the love and care they had for her really mattered quite a lot. She still couldn’t shake the feeling of being coddled however, but she tried her very best to put it to the back of her mind. Trying to gain back some semblance of independence, Terezi had been going on short walks through different parts of town. It was actually kind of refreshing - she hadn’t gone out much previously. Or more like at all. The feeling of being able to go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted she knew would soon be almost intoxicating, at least as she got better and better at the whole ‘living alone’ thing.

Although she had to admit that it had never really felt like she lived alone, what with Vriska letting herself in and out by almost any means she pleases. The company was definitely appreciated, to an extent, but it was always pretty easy to get sick of Vriska’s gimmicky bullshit she constantly pulled just for her own amusement. What a great, wonderful thing to do with a person who was currently filled to the brim with worry and anxiety.

For now however, she tried to focus on the vibrant buildings around her and the fresh air flowing into her lungs. This town was quiet, but it was the nice sort of quiet that everyone yearned for from a place - comforting, friendly, accommodating. Enough noise to let you know that this wasn’t a ghost town but little enough to not be a disturbance. Well, her moving in would have been quite a disturbance to the peaceful aura it held but that wasn’t the point. The atmosphere let her let down her guard a little, relax just a tiny little bit.

Her aimless wandering had left her mind to stir however, ruminating slightly on her situation. She made a specific point not to let herself wander to what had brought this move around, but rather what she was going to do now that she was here. There was a future to look forward to here and her number one goal right now was to seize it. It wasn’t the one she had desired, but it was the one she had to make do with.

Way back when, she had remembered harbouring quite the outrageous dream as a child to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a successful lawyer. Her mother had been like Lady Justice in her eyes - fair, just and all-knowing. She’d been her hero and to an extent, she still was; strong, independent, determined, Her mother had been her role-model as a child and had inspired her to work her ass off in school to line herself up for a good law school, to get where she wanted. Everything had been so close to being in her grasp and in a moment... Well, in a moment she’d run into a door if she didn’t come to her senses. Thankfully instinct kicked in and she placed her hands in front of her, pushing on the handle of the door and blindly stumbling inside.

The dull, almost mindless shuffling of her feet had led her into a small, cosy place. It immediately hit her nose with the swirling scents of ground coffee and frothed milk and warmth. She couldn’t help but let a quiet, content hum come from the back of her throat. This place really felt incredibly fitting with the comfort the town brought.

As the ringing of the doorbell faded out, a brief silence over the top of the hum of constantly working coffee machines held for a few moments before it broke as she approached the counter, a girl emerging from the back depths of the coffee shop. She flashed a slightly practiced but at least somewhat genuine smile, asking if she was interested in buying a coffee.

“Oh, um.. Yes, please, just a cappuccino. Two sugars.”

Handing over the relatively cheap sum of money for her coffee, she found herself a seat back in one of the darker recesses of the shop - a good place to just observe unnoticed. Giving a small stretch of her legs and arms, she leaned back in her chair with a sigh as she closed her eyes for a few moments.

The lightness she felt in her wallet dealt her a chilling reminder of that she really needed to get her shit together. Just because she moved doesn’t mean everything was going to be alright - she had to work her ass off to make sure everything stayed as it was, well and good. Where would she even go? She was brand new here, she didn’t know where to go or who was offering jobs or if they even paid well. Not to mention that something inside her was too afraid to ask anyone about it But the small amount her family and herself had pooled together was quickly running out and she had to pay the bills somehow - her mother wouldn’t be able to support her and herself on the money she had and Terezi wouldn’t have let her in the first place. Part of this move was that she could stand on her own and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I mean, she had nothing to lose.  
...Okay, no, she did actually have a lot to lose but that wasn’t the point. The point was, nothing bad was gonna happen if she asked and that was that.

It was already hard enough to try and swallow her pride, let alone the butterflies flittering around and tangling themselves into knots in the pit of her stomach. God fucking dammit, it was like they hadn’t been able to settle since she had fucking moved in. Deep breaths, Terezi. Keep it together, this is nothing.

“You’ve faced bigger shit than this, c’mon, don’t be nervous.”

Her quiet mumblings were rather quickly cut short by a thick, steaming hot porcelain cup that was softly placed down in front of her on the table by a bored looking gentleman. Her cheeks were slightly red with embarrassment as he gave an affirmative nod before disappearing back behind the counter and into the back - had he heard her talking to herself? Oh god she probably looked so fucking stupid now, she should never have come here. Actually no. Stop. Just drink the fucking coffee. That seemed like a very good plan. Quickly she hooked into it, taking a long sip and using the napkin to wipe at her face. She didn’t need to look anymore a fool than she already did, quite frankly.

Again, she found herself pondering on exactly what the fuck to do. Working here wouldn’t be that bad, right? It seemed pretty quiet and somewhat slow - nice and calming. Exactly what she needed. Not to mention that it was pretty close to her, she could just walk. All of these perks were looking pretty good to her. And it’s not like the hours would matter that much, so long as she paid the bills. Euuuuugh. That... feeling was rising in her stomach again. Get the fuck over it Terezi, tie it all into a knot and pull yourself together.

It felt like one of those moments from movies where the main character was looking into a mirror and then proceeded to slap themselves as a part of their strange version of a self-pep talk. There was no way that was happening, but she tried to do the next best thing and calm herself down. Deep breaths. Count to ten. All that other bullshit. She took the last few sips of her coffee, wiping her face before pushing the cup away from her and more into the centre of the table. With a little sigh she stood up and approached the counter, each step filling her up with more and more nervous energy and a rising lump in her throat becoming more and more prominent.

A meek stutter was all that could escape her as she hesitated to open her mouth, face to face with the girl she had been greeted with at the counter a little while previously. The words in her head refused to come out, at least in the correct order, she could feel it. For a few moments she bit her tongue, before knowing she had to bite the bullet or she’d walk out having not tried at all.

“I-I, uh..” For fuck’s sake Terezi, just ask. It’s not even that hard. Just a few words and it’s one question. Go on.

“...”

More silence filled the room. You fucking idiot. It’s one question and you can’t even ask it. God. Her mind continued to quietly berate her before she finally just blurted it out.

“I was wondering if you guys had any positions open?”

The girl behind the counter thought for a moment before giving a small nod and heading round the back for a brief moment to grab an application.

At least she’d just asked, luckily in the right place. Hopefully this all worked out this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave comments, constructive criticism and the like - I love to hear from you!
> 
> I'm trying to get through a really... REALLY shitty time right now where I feel I've hit rock bottom, so please bear with me. I am eager to write these next few chapters though, so you might see them sooner rather than later.
> 
> Have a good day and in case you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	7. Corto Macchiato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After-work coffees don't go exactly as planned for Karkat. Routine never seems to go well for him lately, now does it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm mid-exams week right now, so I wouldn't expect another chapter for a while. However, I've been looking forward to this one and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Also, I hope you had a wonderfully spoopy October, but now it's Christmas time - time to stick an entire pine tree up my ass.

* * *

 

 _“Please, tell me what I did, I’ll fix it, I ca-”_  

_“You can’t fucking fix this Karkat, I’ve told you!”_

_“Who was the one who used to always say that anything could be fixed?”_

_“That was then, and this is different.”_

_“How is it different, I mean, really?”_

_“Because I **cheated** , okay!? **I** cheated on **you**. And there’s nothing you can do anymore.”_

_“I-- I.. Fuck. Just... Fuck you, fuck **everything**.”_

 

* * *

 

He’d known that when he’d picked up this shitty job that he’d have to deal with the unwashed and dulled masses of the public and that there was going to be hordes of irritating small people-- sorry, _children_ , that were all far too young to buy the games that they wanted and far too stupid to realize that he couldn’t sell it to them because it was fucking illegal and he’d lose his job. Yes, the trials of GameStop were arduous and mundane and mind-numbingly grating on his soul, but it was a solid job and he wasn’t paid that badly. At least it wasn’t fucking hospitality, eugh. He’d been down that road once or twice and he was going to do everything in his power not to go back there.

He had always found the evening drive from the mall straight out of work, while short, had a nice charming familiarity to it - he could practically drive these streets with his eyes closed while he just let himself unwind in one way or another. Being the angry person he was, he was never entirely calm, but it was as calm as he could get without getting toked up on weed or something of that sort. His quiet humming along with the radio were the only sounds filling his space as he pulled up outside of the Sugar & Spice. He’d seriously have gone fucking insane by this point if the coffee shop hadn’t have been here. Striding inside the familiar joint with a slight sigh, he made his way to his usual table with a small & relaxed smile as he sat himself down. He was so used to everything being so much of the calming same, no change whatsoever, that in his slightly tired state he didn’t realize that there had been a slight unexpected change in his routine that he couldn’t have planned for. He saw the waitress approaching from the corner of his eye, giving a little sigh.

“Hey, Fi, just the usu--”

“Well, I don’t know who the fuck Fi is, but either way I’m surprised you can even manage to be the tiniest bit sociable.”

This all had to be some sort of nightmare, another long-running gag in the joke that was his life, right? Surely this couldn’t be coming back to torture him in all sorts of unimaginable ways. Then again, it was his life - he didn’t expect anything less than the worst possible outcome at every turn. That was the way it was before, the way it had always been and the way it was shaping up to be now. He slowly looked up with a whole lot of reluctance and sure enough, his neighbor was standing right there, curious and slightly mischievous expression on her face. He met it with a small grunt and a trademark scowl.

“Wow, what a miracle - I can act like a decent person! Holy shit, stop the fucking presses, because this is one hell of a scoop! And by some God-given miracle, my asshole neighbor is right here to see it. Why are you even here?”

She snorted a little, gesturing towards herself and her uniform.

“Take a wild guess, mister red-hot rage.”

He rolled his eyes, already knowing the answer to what was frankly, one of the stupider questions to spill out of his god-forsaken mouth. Why’d she have to pick here, though? Her response was met with a grumble of discontent, generally wanting to skip over what she’d said completely.

“Whatever. Why’d you have to go and pick here of all places, though? I mean, fuck, you could just go to the god damn Starbucks in the shopping mall. You’d suit the look of serving prissy teenagers who think that Starbucks is the fucking be-all and end-all.”

“And you’d look better helping serve diabetes in a McDonald’s uniform than fending off eleven year old kids at a GameStop, what’s your point?”

Who did she think she was, trying to one-up him with her own snark? Not only was it his job to be the snarky, angry asshole, but he was god damn good at it and he wasn’t about to lose it to his neighbour of two weeks.

“My point is, I frequent this place because it’s my place to relax. But how am I supposed to do that when you’re here?! This isn’t good for keeping the relaxed atmosphere, you know!”

“Says the one who’s shouting.”

Karkat couldn’t help but give a growl, spotting Fi in the back behind the counter glancing over with a snicker. His glare flicked from Fi to the woman standing in front of him, almost as if he was trying to project his near-hate toward her. Who cares if ESP wasn’t real, because she’d sure as hell be receiving his mental message of **‘fuck off’** just by looking at him.

“So, are you gonna let me take your order or not?”

“...Macchiato. It’s what I usually get.”

He let up on the glare a bit, looking slightly reminiscent of a pouting child. Poor kid. She disappeared past the counter and into the back, unable to see her but saw Fi’s expression change from one of amusement to slight worry, moving out of his line of sight. What was going on back there?

Well, whatever. What happened back there was really none of his concern, unless she spit in his coffee or something, but he doubted Fi would let her do that in the first place. Then again, he could be quite a bit of an asshole whether someone was his friend or not. The girl moved over to the coffee machine whilst he saw Fi move out from behind the counter, pulling up a chair at his table and sitting with him.

“Seems you’ve made yourself a new friend, hm?” Her eyebrow was raised in what could easily be mistaken for amusement, but he could see that some sort of lecture was coming.

“She’s not my friend, she’s my annoying fucking neighbor. What’s got you so interested anyway?”

“Look... Karkat, y’know I love you. But just... I gotta tell you to ease up on her.”

"What the fuck? Why would I do that? She’s going out of her way to piss me off.”

“She’s matching your snark, you jackass. And it’s making her pretty uncomfortable.”

“Then she shouldn’t be such an asshole, Fiona.”

“Look, she was fucking shaking back there because she was so nervous and anxious from having to match up to you. She’s brand new in this town, give her some time to adjust before you go full Vantas. Okay? I say that as both her employer and one of the few people around here she knows.”

A small look of surprise dawned on his face for a brief few moments. Had he really done that to someone? As much pleasure as he usually did take in pissing people off, this felt different in the ‘this probably isn’t morally right’ sense. A barely-audible sigh of resignation passed his lips.

“.. Fine, I’ll ease up. But I’m not apologizing.”

“Whatever floats your boat, just don’t flip the fuck out on her.”

She got up clumsily from the chair, putting it back where she grabbed it from and passed his neighbour on her way back in. The coffee cup was placed gently onto the table, Karkat looking up with a slight frown.

“Here’s your coffee, mister red-hot rage.”

“Can that, oh, I don’t know, _not_ be your consistent nickname for me?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to call you when I don’t know your name?”

“Oh, fuck off. It’s Karkat, if you’re just _so eager_ to know.”

A smug smile came onto her face, giving a small nod. He could tell she was rather pleased with herself, at least to some extent.

“Well Karkat, nice to be formally introduced to my neighbor after all this time.” She extended her hand, seeing that it gave an occasional tremble. Still getting over her nerves evidently. Reluctantly, he took it, giving a slow but firm handshake. “I’m Terezi.”

“Well, Terezi, I’d like to be left to my coffee if you don’t fucking mind. Peace and quiet and everything.”

“Let me know if you need anything, then.”

With that she strode away, going around and doing her business. He ended up staying at the shop longer than he had anticipated, the two of them forcing information out of one another each and every time he ordered another coffee. What he’d found out about her was very minimal, as had been what he’d given to her. Her full name was Terezi Pyrope. Twenty three years old, moved in by herself with some help from her mother, sister and friend Vriska. Realistically, he found her not as bad as he’d initially thought. Still irritating as fuck though.

It visibly took her a while to even feel remotely comfortable, starting to crack a few jokes directed at him towards the end of the night. As he got up to leave the shop though, she approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder before thrusting a napkin with ‘gallowsCalibrator >:]’ written on it into his hands when he turned around.

“Have my pesterchum. Hit me up whenever I’m online if you wanna talk, alright? It’s not like I have much else to do anyway, heh. See you round, Karkat.”

She hadn’t even given him a chance to get a word in before she’d just ducked back behind the counter and gotten down to her own business. In slight confusion, he pushed open the door of the Sugar & Spice before getting into his car and heading home.

As Karkat pulled into the driveway, all he really knew was that he was determined to lose the napkin that her chumhandle had been hastily scrawled on as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave comments, constructive criticism and feedback - I love to hear from you!
> 
> The next chapter is gonna be incredibly interesting, with more interaction between these two nerds. It's going to be _glorious._
> 
> Exams and studying are going to fucking kill me.
> 
> Either way, have a good day, and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	8. Maine Coon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terezi feels like shit when she gets home, but her night doesn't turn out that badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My exams are almost done, thank fuck. I only have one more to go, then I'm done and dusted. 
> 
> I have been looking forward to this chapter so fucking much, omfg.
> 
> I'm still feeling shitty (and probably will for quite a long while) but I've still had the motivation to write, so yay!  
> Enjoy.
> 
> Also, there's a lot of shameless self-insert of my interests - namely Team Starkid and musicals. I also realise in retrospect how cheesy and cliche this chapter is but I like it so whatevs, man.

* * *

 

_“Oh my god, shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch.”_

_“I-I didn’t--”_

_“Didn’t what, didn’t listen?”_

_“No, I ju-just..”_

_“Just what? Thought I wouldn’t know what you were doing?”_

_“...”_

_“You know this is why nobody will love you, right? Nobody will ever love you, not the way I do. You’re never gonna be happy. Not without me.”_

 

* * *

 

The last few days of work had been... tiring to say the least. After so long of being so physically isolated from the world around her, including doing it to herself for the most part at home just for her own sheer comfort, interacting with the public was incredibly exhausting. Not to mention nervewracking. I mean, what if she got their order wrong? Or said something unbelievably stupid or managed to hurt someone’s feelings somehow? Or even, worst case scenario, anger them? Just thinking about it made her stomach turn a little, but she was starting to adjust. Even if it was only little by little, baby steps were all it took for the time being.

Her boss, Fiona, was a lovely woman and understood her issues she was having and was happy to help accommodate her and give her a brief little break when things got too over whelming. Despite her being her employer, she was the first friend she’d made since she’d moved here and that in itself was a pretty big achievement in Terezi’s eyes. While she didn’t know anything of what she’d left behind, she knew enough to understand that all of this was incredibly difficult for her and that was okay.

She had found this day just as taxing on her, but she was slowly starting to develop a nice balance of work and other things that regular people did like buy food and take care of their house. She still wasn’t the greatest at taking care of herself, but hey, at least it was somewhat of a step in the right direction. Today had been pretty fun though, Karkat being even grumpier than usual and giving a little bit of a show for those on staff. He came in almost every single day and managed to look more and more annoyed every time he saw her.

Even the thought brought a little amused smirk onto her face as she closed the door behind her, locking it before heading into the kitchen and dumping her stuff down.

“Vriska, I’m home.” Terezi had been expecting her round tonight, her mother saying that Vriska was going to stop by and hang with her for a little while. As much as she didn’t want to have her over some days, she was starting to feel a little more like a regular, functioning member of society. Maybe she could take it. While there was a moment of confusion at the silence, Terezi generally shrugged it off until she turned to open the fridge. Scrawled in Vriska’s messy handwriting, a note was hastily jammed behind a magnet.

Hey sister,  
I've got shit to do tonight. Places to be, people to try and seduce.  
You can babysit yourself, right?  
\- AG

Great. Fucking great. There goes her great mood, tossing itself in front of the nearest speeding car. Vriska was great at what she did, managing to belittle Terezi in twenty five words or less, she won the god damn prize. Taking the note off of the fridge, she crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash. So much for feeling like a regular person - back to feeling like a needy little kid. Ugh. Her footsteps were heavy as she trudged up to her room, taking her sweet time in changing into the first clothes she found on her floor that weren’t dirty - a nice comfy singlet and some tracksuit pants.

Grabbing her laptop, there was a firm plan in her head to curl up in some blankets with her laptop and watch something on YouTube or Netflix or just something to keep her mind off it all. Instead, once she got to the couch and opened the lid of her laptop, she was greeted by a small chime from her Pesterchum as she opened it up. Sure enough, someone had started pestering her in what had to be the ugliest shade of gray she’d ever seen. 

\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] started pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 08:36PM EST! --  
  
CG: OKAY, LOOK. I GET IT, YOU NEED A PLACE TO WORK AND THAT PLACE HAPPENS TO BE MY FAVOURITE COFFEE SHOP. PUTTING ASIDE THE MASSIVE FUCKING ISSUE I ALREADY HAVE WITH THAT, CHANGE YOUR FUCKING SHIFTS. I GO THERE TO RELAX AND INSTEAD I END UP BICKERING WITH YOUR SORRY ASS AND IT’S MORE UNPLEASANT THAN BEING ASKED TO SHOVE A DIRTY RUSTED KITCHEN KNIFE RIGHT UP INTO MY OWN ASS.

The way he relentlessly insulted her in the most strange and absurd of ways could only be none other than Karkat. She had to admit, it made her chuckle at the thought and made her smile the tiniest bit.

\-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 09:02PM EST! --  
  
GC: W3LL W3LL W3LL, 1M SURPR1S3D YOU 4R3 M3SS4G1NG M3 1N TH3 F1RST PL4C3  
  
GC: W3R3 YOU JUST OH SO D3SP3R4T3 TO R34CH OUT TO SOM3ON3 FOR FR13NDLY COMP4N1ONSH1P UND3R TH3 GU1S3 OF 1NSULTS 4ND 4 SOM3WH4T UNF41R D3M4ND?  
  
CG: WELL FIRSTLY, THAT IS COMPLETELY FAIR ON MY PART. *I* FOUND THAT PLACE MYSELF BEFORE YOU EVEN GOT HERE. YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHT TO JUST WALTZ RIGHT INTO THERE AND CLAIM IT FOR YOURSELF.  
  
CG: SECONDLY, I HAVE FRIENDS OF MY OWN, YOU IGNORANT DICKWAD. EVEN YOU SOMEHOW HAVE SOME OF THOSE. REGARDLESS, MY FRIEND CIRCLE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS AND I DON’T PLAN ON INCLUDING YOU IN IT.  
  
GC: TH4T SHOP 1SNT YOUR PROP3RTY YOU DO R34L1S3 TH4T R1GHT  
  
GC: F1 1S TH3 ON3 WHO OWNS 1T, NOT YOU, 4ND 1T 1S OP3N TO TH3 PUBL1C  
  
GC: NOT R3S3RV3D FOR 4NY ON3 P3RSON, 4ND TH4T 1NCLUD3S YOU  
  
GC: 1TS 4 SH4M3 YOU DONT W4NT M3 4S 4 FR13ND THOUGH, YOUR3 M1SS1NG OUT ON TOP QU4L1TY SN4RK, MUS1C4LS 4ND C4T P3TT1NG  
  
CG: OH, SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT THE COFFEE SHOP, I FUCKING KNOW THAT. WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, AN IMBECILE?  
  
CG: AND MUSICALS? REALLY? CLEARLY I’M NOT MISSING OUT ON MUCH. I MEAN, MUSICALS ARE JUST RIDICULOUS COLORFUL FLUFFY BULLSHIT TO ENTERTAIN THE DROOLING MASSES AND SMALL CHILDREN. THEY’RE SHIT.  
  
GC: >:O  
  
GC: 1M P3RSON4LLY OFF3ND3D  
  
GC: MUS1C4LS 4R3 WOND3RFULLY 3NT3RT41N1NG SHOWS TH4T PROV1D3 GR34T SOUNDTR4CKS, WH1MSY 4ND JUST G3N3R4LLY POS1T1V3 F33L1NGS W1TH1N TH31R W1D3 4UD13NC3S  
  
GC: FOR TH3 MOST P4RT 4NYW4Y  
  
GC: R3G4RDL3SS 1 D4R3 YOU TO S4Y TH4T SORT OF BL4SPH3MY TO MY FUCK1NG F4C3  
  
CG: REALLY? FINE THEN.  
  
GC: W41T WH4T  
  
\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] is unavailable! --  
  
\-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 09:27PM EST! --

Oh no. Oh dearie, dearie, god no. He can’t... He wouldn’t come over would he? Terezi’s heart started to race a little, completely on edge right now and her anxiety picking up by the second. Stop, remember what Fi told you. Deep breaths. Nice and slow. She put her laptop aside, leaning back and closing her eyes and just trying to relax. Just remain calm. Main goal here. Besides, she’d faced this person before, she faced them almost everyday. This wasn’t any different and would in fact be better - it was at a place she was comfortable in and that she controlled what happened. There was no reason to panic. 

There came somewhat anticipated knock on the door and...

_**Panic.** _

No, no, keep it together. If she could keep it together at work, she can save face in her own home. Slowly she got up, shuffling over to the door and timidly peeking through the window beside the door to see a grumpy and scowling Karkat at the door. With a small, relieving sigh she opened the door and gave a small chuckle at his scowl.

“Musicals are shit and don’t have any redeeming qualities whatsoever.”

“Well, I see you’re still as grumpy as ever.”

“Shut the fuck up. Let me in, it’s cold as balls out here.”

“You could just go back over, y’know, and stop spewing such vile statements about musicals in my face.”

“What? No, there’s... people over. People who I’m not particularly fond of at the moment.”

“..Whatever floats your boat, I guess.”

As he lightly shoved past her, she could hear him mumble ‘Who the fuck even says that,’. Once an ass, always an ass, she guessed.

He took a look around, shuffling inside and sitting himself on her couch. Jeez, no need to tell him to make himself feel welcome because he seemed to be doing quite a fine job.

“So, since you seem to hate musicals so much, what ones have you seen, hm? Or even heard of?”

There was brief silence on Karkat’s end for probably a few moments too long. “I’ve seen a few bits and pieces of that Les Miserables one.”

“Oho, so you’ve seen one with a bunch of actors who weren’t really specialized in musicals in the first place, not to mention rather dragged out? Not only that, but you haven’t seen it all.”

“That **doesn’t** mean it’s not true, though!”

“It kinda does. Besides, I like musicals and I didn’t even like Les Mis.”

“Well, what shit do you watch then, hm? Try and convince me, although I doubt you’ll get anywhere. You and Fi should both know that incredibly well.”

She had to admit, he was somewhat calmer when he wasn’t out in front of everyone else. Still irate, but on a much smaller scale. Terezi gave a little sigh, sitting down next to him on her couch and opening up her laptop after setting it on the coffee table. After cleaning up a few windows she opened up Youtube, going on a brief search.

“What kind of things do you like to watch, Karkat?”

“Movies.”

“Well yes, dipshit, but what kind of movies?”

All she got was a mumble in response.

“What was that?”

“ _ **Ugh**_... Romcoms.”

Terezi couldn’t help but snicker and giggle at that, looking through a couple playlists before selecting one particular one with a loud final ‘click’.

“Well then, you’ll like this.” Putting it into fullscreen, they both sat back and Karkat frowned a bit as the title came up onto the screen.

“..Me And My Dick? What kind of a musical is that?”

“Shh, shh sh. Just shut up and enjoy it, okay?”

With a slight grumble he seemed to settle in, staring at the screen and at least chuckling at all the right cues. Two and a half hours flew by fast, and by the end Terezi didn’t know whether he liked the musical or not. Either way, she’d enjoyed it and it was nice not to have him bitching in her ear whilst she worked around him.

“So, what’d you think?”

“I.. Joey is me. Minus the successful romantic ventures.”

“I’m glad you liked it, heh.”

Terezi closed the laptop as Karkat rose from the couch, heading over to the door.

“Off so soon?”

“Well, it’s like... almost twelve. I think the people are gone now anyway, so.. bye.”

“I... Have a good night, Karkat.”

She thought it better to let him go of his own accord, let the awkwardness dissipate in its own way. He closed the door behind him with a little nod while Terezi finished cleaning up a bit and headed up to her room.

The night, unexpectedly, was pretty nice. Maybe she could find herself a not-so-abrasive friend in Karkat after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao the reason karkat didn't wanna go back after he left is that sollux and aradia were having a cheesy date night and it made him annoyed (and also a little sad)
> 
> Link to MAMD (yes, it is real and it is great): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0D250702C0684CD
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please feel free to leave comments, creative criticism and feedback! I love to hear from you.
> 
> Next chapter will feature Sollux and Aradia again, aw yeah.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	9. Viennois

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat comes back from his night spent in company to a very unpleasant interrogation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> It was a bit hard to hit the word goal for this chapter, but I think I managed well without repeating myself too much.
> 
> My neck is all healed up now and I have a replacement keyboard, so it's back to traditional typing for me. My struggles with depression and anxiety really aren't going anywhere good right now (I almost had an anxiety attack today, actually), but hopefully I can put it aside and get shit done.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy and I hope I haven't mischaracterised Sollux and Aradia too much.

Of all of the possibilities that could have resulted from that night, in none of them did Karkat expect to genuinely enjoy it. Especially considering it was a night spent with his annoying, snarky-ass neighbour of all people and the slight confusion from what was a relatively unpleasant night lingered as he closed the door of her house behind him and took the incredibly short walk back to home sweet home. Hopefully Sollux and Aradia had finished whatever lovey-dovey bullfuckery they had been busy with before. Eugh, even the thought of him coming in and still seeing them in the midst of late night date night activities made his stomach turn to the point where he was almost certain he’d throw up. Sigh, deep breaths, Karkat.

He opened the door with bated breath, one that was quickly released as he heard dead silence throughout a dark household. Thank _fuck_. A small little smirk crawled its way onto his face as he shuffled inside, placing his keys on the dining table and moving into the kitchen. Grabbing whatever can of soda happened to be in the fridge, he cracked it open with a satisfied sigh. “To silence,” he mumbled before taking a long sip and setting his tired ass on the couch. Taking a moment to really drink in the moment of serenity, he set his drink aside and turned on the TV. Maybe he’d fall asleep to a romcom or something. Nice way to finish the ni--

“Hello there, KK. Enjoy your night?”

The light from the TV had finally revealed Sollux hiding away like a creepy little fucker in the darkness, for once having rid himself of some sort of device to cast light and reveal himself, recliner out and Sollux looking like he was out of some sort of D-grade student remake of James Bond done with only household settings and cardboard set pieces. Karkat’s heart threatened to lurch out of his throat with fright, almost instantly recoiling back into the couch as he looked over at Sollux wide-eyed.

“Jesus shitting christ, Sollux, what the fuck are you doing? Shouldn’t you be in bed with Aradia or something after all your couples bullshit?” Ugh, there’s another stomach turn. Fucking romance.

“It’th my houthe too, crabby, I can do what I pleathe. Besides, after you left for tho long, I couldn’t help but wonder where you’d gone that had captured your rage-lacking attention for more than five minut-th. Well, after I’d finished up with my date night activitieth, of course.” Cue the disturbing suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Karkat couldn’t help raise an eyebrow a little, especially as he tried to pronounce ‘minutes’.

“I’m a god damn adult and you’re not my babysitter, so mind your fucking business.”

“Just thtop avoiding the fucking quethtion, man. Can’t a friend jutht athk how your night went?”

Sollux leaned forward, knowing that both he and Karkat were both, quite honestly, too tired to keep up the dramatic guarded bullshit. Sighing, he took a sip of his drink before leaning over, looking down almost as if it was in shame before glancing at Sollux with an almost cringing expression.

“...You know the new neighbor that moved in a few weeks ago? Well, she works at the coffee shop. Gave me her Pesterchum for some reason. I messaged her to, quintessentially, stop being a little shit. We bickered, she dared me to say something shitty about musicals to her face because she likes them for whatever fucking reason and so I did. We ended up watching one of her musicals together for, like two and a half hours and then I came back. Night fucking done. Are you happy?”

Giving a small nod Sollux sat back, almost as if he was contemplating what he’d just said. What was so hard to understand about that? They bickered, they watched a movie, he went home. There really wasn’t anything more underlying it, at least to him. Although why he’d stuck around for the musical, he didn’t know.

“...The new neighbor, eh? I’m thurprithed you thtuck around with her that long, conthidering how much you’ve been bitching about her whenever we allow you the chanthe.”

“Ugh, get to the fucking point, Sollux.”

“My point ith that you should tell me more about thith new mythterious annoying girl.”

“What, why? Why are you so interested in her? You’ve literally never met her.”

“All the more reason to be interethted, KK.”

“Will you stop being a nosy asshole and go to bed if I do?”

“Eh, probably. Dependth how I’m feeling.”

Karkat dragged a hand down his face with a small groan. As much as he didn’t really have a lot to tell, let alone want to tell, a ‘probably’ was as much of a ‘yes’ as he was ever going to get from Sollux. It was worth a try, he supposed.

“..What do you even want to know?”

“Well, any updateth on her cup s--”

“ ** _Nope._** Not even gonna _go_ there. I don’t know and I don’t care.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Next question, asshole.”

Sollux badly suppressed a childish snicker at Karkat’s anger. Glad to know that he was Sol’s personal show for his amusement. Gonna pull out the top hat and cane, maybe start doing a jig. Regardless, Sollux was spending far too long ruminating on his next question for Karkat to feel even remotely comfortable with what he may or may not ask next. However, as if it was some absurd, well-timed and almost clichéd miracle, Aradia poked her head out from their bedroom with a slight, concerned frown.

“Sollux, stop interrogating Karkat, Jesus fucking Christ. It’s late. Get your ass in here.”

Sollux’s eyes squinted slightly at that, as if to say ‘you’ve won this time, you little shit.’ Sure enough, he showed no signs of moving and in response to Sollux’s obvious lack of willingness to comply (despite, in secret, being quite obedient to her depending on the subject) Aradia shuffled her way out into the living room, occasionally almost stumbling over her pyjama pants. All she had to do was raise a mere eyebrow before he gave a sigh of shame and reluctantly made his way up the hall and into their shared bedroom.

“Night, shithead.” Karkat couldn’t help but give a chuckle, even more so as Sollux flipped him off before disappearing into his room. Aradia smirked a little, sitting herself down beside Karkat and giving him a light, friendly nudge with her shoulder. 

“Sorry about that, it’s been a bit boring since late date night stuff ceased.”

“Aradia, it’s fine. If I didn’t know what I was signing up for when we decided it’d be fucking stellar to become roommates then I wouldn’t still be here, heh.”

“True, true. Either way, did you have a good night? I know you’re not a fan of our couples stuff and I completely understand.”

He paused for a moment, taking a moment to think. Did he have a good night? I mean, it definitely wasn’t bad, but that didn’t necessarily make it inherently good either. Although, really, he had to admit that realistically that the night wasn’t bad. At least better than staying in and having to witness all of the romance-laden antics and hear the pounding against their bedroom wall. Trying to put the thought aside, he gave a slow little nod as he looked towards Aradia.

“...Yeah. Yeah, I think I did. Better than staying in and wasting away anyway.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. Y’know, you’re looking a bit better lately. A little less... lost and brooding. Maybe somebody to try and one up all the time is turning out to be good for you, huh? Well, at least it gets you out of the house a bit more. Try not to scare her off, okay? From the sounds of it you two could very well become friends yet.”

Karkat was slightly confused, brows furrowing together. The idea of becoming genuine friends with this woman felt somewhat repulsing. But on the other side of that coin, it gave him something to think about. He had to admit the idea of conquering such a challenge of one-upping her and being the true master of sass pleased him. But that didn’t mean any form of friendliness had to play into it. Who knows.

“I guess we’ll see, but don’t count on it.”

“Oh, I’m not! Nothing wrong with hoping, though.” She said it oh-so-cheerfully to the point where it was slightly concerning. Then again, Aradia was always cheerful regarding the possibilities of most, if not all outcomes in any situation. He couldn’t help but internally remark at how wrong hoping could really be, what it could do to a person - he knew that firsthand all too well. A moment of slightly awkward silence passed between them before Aradia got up, beaming widely down at him.

“Well, I’m gonna follow Bee Boy back into bed, I’m getting kinda tired anyway. I really am happy you at least enjoyed your night, even a little bit. G’night, Karkat.”

Shuffling back down the hall, he could hear the quiet little tune she was humming as she made her way back into her room, Karkat just sitting back and pondering. How did she even _think_ that he could strike up a legitimate friendship with this girl?

Whatever. His business was going to remain as much of only his business as possible, as was his nature. After all, what was it called a _personal_ life for? At this point in the night his plans to watch a romcom and fall asleep on the couch were completely ruined, deciding that it would probably just be a whole hell of a lot easier just to head to bed and call it a night. Put the rest of the night that he’d spent with Terezi out of mind. It was only a one-off instance anyway, what did it matter?

Almost as soon as Karkat in his room, he exchanged jeans for well-worn and comfortable track pants before laying down in bed with a final, resigning sigh. It was a wonder he even expected the house to be just how he liked it when he got home. That didn’t matter too much though, at least the night was kinda nice. Not that he’d entirely admit it, even to himself.

Karkat found it somewhat hard to settle in, the somewhat... strange turn of events that the night had held, at least in his view, still plaguing his mind and refusing to leave. Nope. No, the night _wasn’t_ that good, that was a lie, so the thoughts could leave his head now. Yep. Definitely.

**_Why is how the night went not leaving his head._ **

He gave a little groan, fishing his phone from his nightstand and turning up the volume, putting on some music and leaving it on shuffle. Anything to warrant a distraction, to be quite honest. As long he didn’t ruminate on the night too much, he’d never have to admit a god damn thing. He tried his best to focus on the music - the thrum of the bass, the beat of the drums, the harsh guitar, the fact that wow, that musical was far better and more relatable than he thought and holy shit just fucking stop thinking about it. It wasn’t gonna get him anywhere and he’d have to admit that a night with the annoying neighbour was enjoyable. Considering how stubborn of an asshole he was, that was something he’d rather avoid at all costs.

“God dammit, just get to fucking sleep, Karkat..” He mumbled it almost angrily, frustrated with himself. If he could force what had happened to him who knows how many months ago out of his mind due to sheer stubbornness, surely he could get rid of this. Here’s to hoping that she wasn’t working at the coffee shop tomorrow so that it wouldn’t be a stark reminder to his brain of things he’d yet to concede to.

And yet, the more he tried to keep it off of his mind as he drifted slowly into sleep, he couldn’t help but notice that his last thoughts on his mind for the day had failed him miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I really had fun writing the whole Sollux-Karkat-Aradia interaction.
> 
> I gotta plan out Chapter 11 before starting work on Chapter 10, but that should be pretty soon. I'm going to try and finish off an assessment and some homework before that, though.
> 
> I hope you have a great day and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	10. Serengeti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terezi has a bit of an up day that is quickly brought back to Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Welcome back. As expected with everything else in my life, shit has kept spiralling downwards and finding the motivation to finish this has been a bitch. However, I've managed to finish it, so yay!
> 
> Also, expect another little ficlet (that is separate from this) to come out today or so, as I am officially instigating 12 Days Of Karezi. All Christmas themed and stuff. Super fluffy and cute. Good times.
> 
> Regardless, enjoy!
> 
> [[EDIT 24/12/15]]: lmao im so sorry guys im way too far behind on that ficlet and im not gonna catch up, BUT I will be releasing a longer New Year's Eve short story after I delete the other to send off the year and as a compensation of sorts for being a lazy little shit <3

For the first time in a long, long time things finally felt like they were somewhat.. solid. Not necessarily okay, because there was a long way to go before things were rosy, but she had a routine, people she talked to regularly, a life to live. As mundane as it would seem to those observing her from the outside, it felt like she was finally doing something. A genuine smile managed to make its way onto her face every now and then and it was a nice feeling. Her regular family visits, while a bit awkward at first, got more and more enjoyable as Terezi began to slowly gain her own experiences and stories from around town. Sure, she wasn’t exactly abundant when it came to having friends, but that was okay. As long as she was safe and content, it didn’t matter.

This morning she’d woken up in a particularly good mood - it was her day off and she had no real obligations. While she’d started out cleaning the house, it got boring without some sort of accompaniment. So, she did what she hadn’t done in a long, long time - she grabbed her phone, hooked it up to her stereo and let the music blast out as she worked round the house. She’d decided on sticking to her favorites to keep the mood going and so far, it was working. When the familiar beginning piano and drums floated over the speakers, she couldn’t help but grin a little.

 _‘I was so high I did not recognize’_  
_‘The fire burning in her eyes,’_  
_‘The chaos that controlled my mind.’_

She found herself humming happily along - Maroon 5 had always been one of her favorite bands ever since she’d first heard this song and it never failed to make her smile but it’d been years since she’d listened to it. Cranking up the stereo, she found herself humming along as she continued to clean and tidy. 

 _‘Whispered goodbye as she got on a plane’_  
_‘Never to return again,’_  
_‘But always in my heart.’_

Before she knew it, she found herself dancing along a little as she moved throughout the house, quietly singing along under her breath. This would honestly have to be the first time that she’d been fully enjoying the extent of freedom she had in her own house and boy, was it glorious.

 _‘This love has taken it’s toll on me,’_  
_‘She said goodbye too many times before.’_  
_‘And her heart is breaking in front of me,’_  
_‘And I have no choice, ‘cause I won’t say goodbye anymore.’_

She was enjoying the relaxed and generally nice atmosphere she’d made when all of a sudden her laptop went off - who the fuck would be messaging her right now? Her family wasn’t gonna drop by today, and Vriska never left any messages ever. Sitting down and pulling open Pesterchum, the gray text it displayed really shouldn’t have surprised her.

 

\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] started pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 11:23AM EST! --  
  
CG: YOU KNOW, YOU COULD AT LEAST HAVE BETTER TASTE IN WHATEVER DISGUSTINGLY MUSTY AND FESTERING BULLSHIT YOU DECIDE TO BLAST THROUGH YOUR HOUSE AND DOWN THE FUCKING STREET.  
  
GC: YOU KNOW YOU H4V3 NO CHO1C3 1N WH4T 1 PL4Y, R1GHT?  
  
GC: B3S1D3S, TH3 COSMOS 1S CURR3NTLY 1N CH4RG3 OF WH4T COM3S BL4ST1NG THROUGH MY SP34K3RS 4NYW4Y THROUGH TH3 MYST1C4L POW3RS OF ‘SHUFFL3’  
  
CG: REALLY, THOUGH? MAROON 5? I’M PRETTY SURE I’M SUFFERING A SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN HAEMORRHAGE RIGHT NOW.  
  
GC: WHOS TO S4Y YOUR MUS1C T4ST3 1S 4NY B3TT3R?  
  
CG: TRUST ME. IT’S NOT FILLED WITH FLUFFY BULLSHIT ABOUT THE SAME BREAKUPS AND ALL THAT OTHER CRAP.  
  
GC: OH WH4T3V3R, CR4BBYP4NTS  
  
GC: >:]  
  
CG: SAYS THE ONE WHO STAYS HOLED UP IN HER HOUSE ON HER DAY OFF.  
  
GC: HOW DO YOU KNOW 1M ON MY D4Y OFF?  
  
GC: H4V3 YOU B33N K33P1NG T4BS ON M3 B3C4US3 YOU 4R3 JUST SOO CONC3RN3D FOR YOUR FR13ND?  
  
GC: OR SHOULD 1 S4Y ‘4CQU41NT4NC3’?  
  
CG: YES, ACQUAINTANCE SUITS OUR RELATIONSHIP PERFECTLY. BUT YOU ALSO FORGET THAT I GO TO THE SUGAR AND SPICE ALMOST EVERY DAY. WHY WOULDN’T I KNOW YOUR SHIFTS IS THE REAL QUESTION.  
  
GC: WH4T 4 TRU3 FR13ND 1 H4V3 1N YOU  
  
CG: WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY, YOU SHITHEAD.

 

The small snicker that came from Terezi at Karkat’s abrasiveness was quickly cut short by the last thing Terezi needed right now.

“Hey there sis, who ya talking to, hmm?”

Terezi let out a small involuntary scream, not anticipating Vriska today at all - then again, she never did. The laptop slid off of her lap and onto the empty spot beside her on the couch, the lid half closed from the panic that Vriska caused. Vriska continued to snicker and laugh, still reveling in the reaction she evoked from her. Terezi shut the laptop before quickly turning off the music and turning towards Vriska with arms folded and somewhat of a frown on her face.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were going to visit today.”

“Well, I would have figured the jostling of key and lock at your front door would have been enough of an indicator that ‘hey, good pal Vriska is coming to visitbut you mustn’t have heard me over your music. Can’t believe you still listen to Maroon 5, really? Thought you would have moved onto something with a little more harsh guitar by now.”

“Well... Thanks, I guess.”

“Aww, you were so cheery a few moments ago! Did I scare you too much? I’m surprised you even had the smallest hint of a smile on your face, thought you’d be mopey for a whole lot longer.”

“I thought you’d be happy I’m happy, you know.”

“You think I’m not? Well, just surprised. Just gotten so used to seeing quiet, small, sad Terezi.”

Because that made her feel so much better about her progress being so easily belittled. Terezi shifted into herself some more, starting to feel a little uncomfortable. No surprise for anyone there. Vriska gave a somewhat exaggerated sigh, coming over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder with both eyebrows raised.

“Look, we both know that realistically one small itty-bitty incident could send you toppling back down again. So what’s the point in embracing something so fragile?”

There was only a brief moment of silence from Terezi, the most escaping her being somewhat of a conceding sigh. She knew she was right to an extent, but she just wanted to be able to enjoy something for what it was instead of worrying about anything else for once.

So much for that.

“I knew you’d get it. So, what’s got you all cheery for once in a while anyway?”

“Nothing, just.. talking to people. Trying to make some friends.”

“You make it sound _soooo_ difficult, Tez.”

“Well, it’s not exactly easy for me, is it? You of all people should know that.”

This was bringing down the entire vibe she had going for her as quickly as the Titanic had sunk when it hit that iceberg. There was no Rose and Jack, only misery and death. Well, okay, that was a little more morbid and intense than she had intended, but the analogy still worked.

“Oh my god, fine, I’m sorry. Who were you even talking to on there?”

“Oh, uh.. The neighbor. He’s all grumpy and stuff but he’s always at the coffee shop I work at now. We’re kind of friends but not?"

She’d have known that she even had a job, let alone regular face-to-face interactions if she’d taken less pleasure in watching her squirm uncomfortably every time she showed up. She knew that Vriska did care about her, but it was kinda hard to remember sometimes. Like these times, for example.

“Wait, that pouty asshole? Seriously? I don’t even rock up here often, but I am almost certain he flipped me off when you moved in and proceeded to glare at me. I heard him yelling about your cat at one point too, it was pretty fucking funny.”

“Yes, that pouty asshole. He’s just as ornery in person but he’s not that bad.. I think, anyway. What does him getting pissy about Nep have to do with anything, though?”

“I dunno, thought you might get a laugh out of it. I sent her over with a note on the collar when I was here a few weeks ago, actually. I can imagine he’d have had a gigantic shitfit, oh my god. I’d pay to see that.”

It took Terezi a moment to process what Vriska had just said - is that where Nep had run off to for those few days? It made sense on second thought, but it was still irritating - why the fuck did she think she could just mess with her cat? Wait, it’s Vriska. That’s probably why.

“You fucking _set her out on purpose_?”

“Well, yeah. What, are you upset or something?”

“Of course I’m upset, Vriska, she’s my **pet**!”

“I wouldn’t have set her out if I didn’t know she’d come back, calm down!”

“Vriska, I-I hate it when you do stuff like this, I-I-I..”

She took a deep breath, wringing her hands tightly for a moment to still herself, to calm down a bit. Just stay calm, Terezi.

“...I really want you to go. Please.”

Vriska scowled, rolling her eyes with a heavy, exaggerated sigh. The way she reacted didn’t surprise her, with her heading towards the door in a huff.

“Whatever. I’ll come back when you’re less uppity about trivial bullshit. I’ll see you later, _‘Rezi_.”

The mere mention of that old nickname made her stomach turn in anxiety and bad, bad memories. The door slam shut in a show of angry, dramatic flair and with a release of bated breath from Terezi - she’d gone into a state she hadn’t been in for a little while, the state of anticipation that she absolutely hated. With a bit of a shake she tried to get rid of the feeling, pushing her hair back out of her face.

“Fuck, ugh.”

Terezi sat herself down, doing her best to manage like she had to occasionally. Eyes closed, only focusing on her breathing. It was just one little confrontation. Nothing major. It was over now. Nobody got hurt, nobody was going to get hurt.

It took a couple moments for the panic to subside and her responsibilities to set back in - shit, she should probably feed Nep.

Terezi got up, calling for the furball as she slowly roamed round the house. Why wasn’t she coming out, what the hell? She could feel that something was definitely off.

“Nep? C’moon, c’mere you little shit.”

Pausing for a few moments, Terezi just... listened. Usually she could hear Nep padding around the house, but this wasn’t the case.

**_Fuck._ **

A slight growl of frustration came from the back of her throat, really not fucking needing this right now. She’d just gotten over one moment of anxiety, so why the fuck did there have to be another? The worst part was that she knew exactly where she was and that’s what made her even more petrified of going to retrieve the elusive little shit.

Nope, nope, she was absolutely not doing this right now. If she just went over there, got the cat and then left, it’d be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Now all she had to do was convince herself of that. Not that she had much time to though, as her feet were already carrying her towards her front door without a second thought to it.

Just pull it together. It was going to be fine, it **had** to be fine. Just get the cat and fucking leave. No worries, no fuss. In and out. Yep, that’s definitely what was going to happen.

Each step bridging that few metres to his house just kept building tension and nervousness inside of her, but she just had to fucking swallow her pride and get it done. That’s what Pyropes do.

For a few moments she just... stood there in front of the door. Did she really have to do this? Stop, of course she did, it was a stupid fucking question. Clenching her fist slightly, she gave a firm few knocks to the door and waited in nervous anticipation. However, the face she was greeted with at the door was completely foreign to her and made her absolutely freeze.

“Yeth, can I-- Oh, hold on a thecond. Are you who I think you are?”

“U-Um.. Ma-Maybe?”

 

At this point, she would rather just run away and leave them with the cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you really enjoyed this chapter! Don't hesitate to leave comments, criticism and the like - I love hearing from you and it makes my day.
> 
> Next chapter involves Terezi getting introduced to Sollux and Aradia. Both interesting and stressful to say the least.
> 
> Either way, I hope you have a good day/night, and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	11. Caffé Affogato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terezi finally meets Aradia and Sollux and, as expected, nothing goes as it really should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yes i am actually still alive which is a massive surprise!
> 
> whEW it's been over a month since I've updated this and I am so sorry. Depression and senior studies did a massive tag team effort at kicking my ass and they're still doing so.

* * *

 

_“Karkat, jutht thtop fucking fretting over it for once, okay? It’th been at least, what, a month, maybe a month and a half?”_

_“Who says that I have to be perfectly fine by then, Sollux!? Why can’t I just feel like shit in peace?”_

_“That’th not what I... Ugh. Look. You thtaying inthide and moping ith not doing you any good. All you do ith thtalk her thocial media and make yourthelf thadder by reminding yourthelf that she’d rather have that bleach blonde prick than you.”_

_“You know reminding me of how I fucked up irrevocably isn’t making me feel any better right?”_

_“Then thtop reminding yourthelf and shut the fucking laptop. It’ll thtart getting better.”_

_“It’s... I-It’s not that easy.”_

_“Yeth it ith, you dumbath. You know you’re not going through thith alone, right?”_

_“...Yeah, I know.”_

 

* * *

 

 

In all the time that Karkat had been friends with Sollux, he knew that he was never one to really want to make conversation with complete strangers, rather keeping to himself and those who stuck around to pester him for long enough to eventually be considered friends if they were (not so) lucky.

The fact that Sollux had bothered to answer the door at all was already strange enough as it was, but him actually lingering at the door? That was almost as if all hell was about to break loose. Which was pretty accurate, considering how Karkat felt his eyes instantly widen once he made his way up the hall and managed to look past his shoulder. Why was she here? Why in the ever-loving **_fuck_** did she decide to come over? This was absolutely not meant to happen, he couldn’t afford to introduce her to Sollux and Aradia and risk them telling her something stupid about him for her to mock him with. He’d already had enough of that bullshit back when he was in school to last him a lifetime. Sure, most of it didn’t phase him, but the consistency pissed him off.

Karkat’s first instinct was simple; _cover his ass._ Using probably more force than was necessary, he barged Sollux out of the way, grabbing the doorhandle behind him as he almost fell through the doorway and slammed it shut behind him. He found himself now uncomfortably close to Terezi, almost nose to nose with her, able to see his slightly gaunt and incredibly grumpy reflection in her glasses. Way too fucking close to her. Back it up, dumbass.

It was a brief few moments of all too awkward and almost tension-filled staring before he moved away, shuffling to the side before turning her to face him, although thankfully at a far more reasonable distance away this time. His brows furrowed into his signature scowl, and it was back to business.

“What the fuck are you doing, dragging your ass over here? You couldn’t just message me for whatever you wanted?”

“I-I.. I just.. I, fuck, I..” Terezi kept stuttering and stammering out her words, voice quiet and shaky. Karkat’s face turned from one of anger to confusion - what the fuck was going on with her? Even her hands were trembling a little and it seemed like her eyes were glued to the ground. She just kept spluttering out the same few words, ‘I,’ and ‘I can’t,’ over and over and over.

...Is that what Fi was talking about? He knew it sounded bad, but it had taken a few moments for it to really dawn on him how much of a bundle of nerves that this girl really was.

He gave a deep sigh, not really having been in the position of having to calm someone down before - usually it was the other way around. Karkat slowly, softly placed his hands on her shoulders, arms outstretched before he bent down a little to be at eye level with her.

“Fuck, okay, Terezi. Look at me.”

Her eyes were wide as they met his gaze, his expression both concerned and uncertain.

“Breathe. You need to calm down. It’s fine.”

She was shaking her head, opening her mouth about to try and stutter out more incredibly broken speech before he cut her off.

“No, don’t speak you dumbass. Don’t make it worse. Just... focus on breathing.”

He could hear her take in a shaky breath, but he could also see a lot of tension leave her as she exhaled.

“It’s gonna be fine. The guy who answered the door is an ass. No need to freak the fuck out.”

He could hear a small little ‘mhm’ after he finished speaking, just keeping an eye on her as she slowly but surely calmed down. It was almost jarring to see her go from one end of the emotional scale to the other and watch the whole god damn journey. It hadn’t been that long, but definitely longer than he would have liked. Knowing his luck, Sollux and Aradia were probably watching and observing from the front door and making some sort of fucked up plan to serve some benign purpose.

“You alright now?”

“...Yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t fucking apologise, you and I both know you shouldn’t have to.”

Terezi gave a small, dry laugh and half of a smile as she nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

He took his hands off of her shoulders, trying to get rid of the slightly awkward feeling of almost watching someone have a panic attack, and jammed his hands back into his pockets.

“So what are you even here for, anyway?”

“Oh, uh.. I think my cat is here again? I just wanted to come and collect her. I got worried.”

He rolled his eyes, giving out a small groan. At least he didn’t have to go and return the fur-covered little shit himself.

“She’s in the backyard.”

Karkat turned away, opening the door and leading Terezi inside, who hung rather close. It was understandable though, considering Sollux was the one to launch her into anxiety in the first place. He tried to be as calm as he could, but that was pretty difficult when he didn’t even have to look over at Sollux to know that he was staring right at him with that shitty, smug smirk of his. Karkat quickly shot him a glare without hesitation before taking Terezi outside.

The backyard was... interesting, to say the least. The grass had grown even taller somehow in the past few weeks and holy shit, they really needed to buy a lawnmower or something, even if they never really did go out there. It was almost up to Karkat’s fucking hip.

“The little shit should be in here somewhere. I don’t even understand why she comes over here.”

A contemplative hum passed Terezi’s lips as she looked over the yard, brows furrowed slightly.

“Nep? C’mon, Nep. Here kitty.”

It was a mere few seconds before the small lil' cat came slowly sulking out from the tall grass towards Terezi, quickly being scooped up in her arms and tucked protectively close. She brushed what looked like some grass and the like away from Nep’s mouth, turning to Karkat with a perplexed hum.

“You have catnip in your yard.”

“What?”

“Catnip. It grows at the back of your yard. That’s probably why she’s over here so often. Kind of makes sense why she’s been pretty slow lately, too..”

“Isn’t that like weed but for cats?”

“...Pretty much.”

“Ugh. Great to know your cat is a dedicated stoner.”

Giving a small giggle, she followed after Karkat as he opened the door and headed inside, in the hopes of managing to get Terezi out of his house as soon as god damn possible. But, sure enough, that wouldn’t be the case because Aradia had made her way out into the lounge room with Sollux. Fucking _stellar._

“Ooh, I didn’t know we had guests over! Why didn’t you tell me, bumblebee?”

“O-Oh, I, uh, I’m not a guest. I was about to leave anyway, just don’t mind me.” Terezi mumbled out with eyes wide, turning to leave for the door when Aradia made her way out from her spot nestled next to Sollux on the couch to grab her wrist lightly. As soon as she felt her fingers brush against her wrist, Terezi’s arm instantly recoiled from her touch, turning around to face Aradia quickly to make it seem somewhat less like a knee-jerk reaction.

“You don’t have to leave, you know. I think the only person who’d be put out is Karkat, but he always is.”

Cue an incredibly deep, grumpy scowl.

“You’re the new neighbour, right? I’m Aradia.” She held her hand out towards Terezi, to which she meekly shook it and smiled a little.

“...Terezi.”

“Well, Terezi, why don’t you stay for a little while? There’s more than enough milk for everyone to have a coffee or two.”

Before Terezi could even answer, Aradia was guiding her away from Karkat and towards the shared couch, Sollux moving over and giving Terezi some space - not that she needed it, having quite quickly recoiled to the other side of the lounge and not taking up much space at all.

Great. Absolutely fucking perfect. Just what Karkat wanted, another nuisance in his day after what was already too much bullfuckery for his taste. Then again, any amount above nothing was too much for Karkat’s taste.

Aradia had set Sollux onto making coffees, knowing that if she didn’t give him anything to do then he’d probably ask something wildly inappropriate merely for shits and giggles and they both knew they really didn’t need that right now. He brought them down rather promptly, Karkat and Aradia’s combined forces ‘subtly’ forcing him across from Aradia and away from Terezi as he sat down. Karkat made himself comfortable in his usual recliner, giving a heavy sigh. Before Karkat could even make a mere remark of protest, Aradia cut him off.

“So, Terezi, how long have you been in the neighbourhood for?”

“Uh.. I’d say around a month or so? I’m not really sure, I-I haven’t been keeping track..”

“Oh, altho, KK’th been wonder--” Sollux didn’t even need to finish his question for Aradia and Karkat both to flare up at him, silencing him with red hot glares.

“I’ve been wondering about jack shit, Sollux, so shut the fuck up.”

“...Well, I wath _going_ to thay that you were wondering about who the people who helped her moved in were, but I gueth that’th too obthene.”

Karkat gave a disgruntled hum as Sollux sat back, giving a small shrug that absolutely screamed ‘smug asshole with shitty intentions’. Terezi just sat there for a few moments in silence, sitting uncomfortably and shifting a little as she realized all their gazes has shifted to her to continue the conversation.

“...M-My sister, mom and my friend helped me move. Vriska was the one with the shitty streak i-in her hair.”

That garnered a small chuckle from Aradia, trying her best to channel her inner house hostess.

“At least you had a hand. The lazy bumblebee over there refused to help move himself in for the most part because he was too busy berating prepubescent teens online.”

A fleeting little smile crossed Terezi’s face at that and it most certainly didn’t escape the notice of Karkat - that was the first sign she’d shown to being remotely comfortable here with them there. Huh. This was going... surprisingly okay by his standards? At least she wasn’t being pesky.

“Oh, shut up, AA. It’th an important hobby of mine.”

“Sol, just fucking stop. Nobody wants to hear about you wasting your life away on Reddit like a gross fucking hermit.” Karkat sighed with a hint of exasperation, already one hundred and twenty-seven percent done with his bullshit. Time to focus on something else. Enquire more into this weird girl’s history or something, Karkat. Just make him stop.

“..Why’d you even move to this quiet shithole of a town anyway, though?”

As soon as the words had left his mouth, it felt like the air had gone stale. Everything was static. Karkat could swear he saw Terezi go about five shades paler than was humanly possible in a mere moment.

“I-I... I just... I didn’t.. I need to go. I need to go. Sorry, fuck, I just..” Terezi was already scurrying her way out towards the door as she spoke, hands trembling a little and eyes wide. What the fuck? Everybody’s faces were splayed with confusion and concern - what had he said? How had Karkat fucked it up this time? Because let’s face it, that was the question that was always the money maker. Almost as if he was operating on some sort of foreign instinct, Karkat got up, quickly striding his way over to her with a brief call of her name. She stopped, hand already poised above the door handle and prime to make her hurried escape. Karkat got in a little close, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. For once, he had managed to lower his voice to a volume that could be properly considered whispering as he spoke.

“Hey are... you okay? You’re not freaking out on me again, are you?”

“I-I’m fine. I’ll message you later, I g-guess. I just need to go, I need to leave.”

She left as quickly and as anxious as she had been when she scurried in and Karkat didn’t know what to do. Firstly, he’d just showed genuine concern for her a second time and that was a little worrying. Secondly, what the fuck had he said or done this time to make her act like that?

He heard a little snicker from behind him, whipping around and spotting Sollux and Aradia leaning against the wall and just staring at him with small, knowing smirks.

“..What? Fi asked me to look out for her and shit, what else was I supposed to say to Fi? She would have fucking killed me.”

Sollux merely shook his head with a chuckle, grinning a little wider.

“Sure, Karkat.” He walked off, Aradia following like a puppy with a tiny little giggle to leave Karkat still standing almost dumbfounded at the front door.

 

God fucking _dammit_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Please feel free to comment, kudos, and all that other stuff - it really makes my day to see and hear from you guys and get some feedback.
> 
> Next chapter should be a bit interesting - a bit of a 'get to know you'. But way less intimidating to TZ.
> 
> I hope you all have a great day and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	12. Birman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat has a visitor and happens to oh-so-rudely impede on Terezi's self-loathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooo boy its been just over two months since ive updated this and im so sorry
> 
> literally everything is kicking my ass at once  
> this chapter was a massive task for me, especially since i havent had much time lately  
> please enjoy this labour of love i emplore u

* * *

 

_“Terezi, Jesus Christ, where were you? You had me worried sick - you know I don’t like you out late without your phone when Mom’s not around.”_

_“Latula, you know I can look after myself. I don’t need to be coddled or anything..”_

_“Can you?”_

_“Of course I can..”_

_“Then why are you covered in mark and bruises, ‘Rezi?”_

_“...”_

_“Well?”_

_“It’s nothing. And please don’t call me that.”_

_“Come on, Terezi. Tell me what’s wrong. You’re covered in bruises almost everyday. I know you try to hide them but that doesn’t mean I can’t tell. Are you okay?”_

_“...I’m fine, Latula. I promise._

_“That’s not an explanation.”_

_“Well, that’s all I can give you.”_

_“Well, that’s not the answer I’m gonna take.”_

 

* * *

 

So much for saving up her sick days.

After what Terezi preferred to call the ‘Cat Incident’, she’d been riddled not only with embarrassment and almost a sort of fear, but anxiety assaults - precisely why she’d been holed up in her house all day and into the night thus far. This happened far too often for her liking, let alone over something so stupid. At least she had something worth panicking over before.

No. Just stop fucking thinking, Terezi. Focus on the more important matter at hand - finding out who this god damn murderer was because you were Phoenix Wright and Phoenix Wright doesn’t have anxiety issues about stupid shit, Phoenix Wright kicks ass in and out of court. Terezi’s flimsy attentions moved back towards the screen - she really wasn’t a fan of this 3D gimmick they tried to pull off in this game - and just tried to focus. That shouldn’t be too hard. Right?

Haha, who was she kidding, she was dead wrong.

With a whine she shut her 3DS, huffing as she cast it aside before promptly burying her face into a pillow. There was no point in trying to distract herself. It was suffer now or suffer later and she’d rather just get on with it.

“Can’t believe I was so fucking dumb, urgh...”

Her murmurs and ruminating, in typical Terezi fashion, were interrupted not too far in by firm, consistent thumping on the door. What was it with her and her anxious spells always being interrupted? Why couldn’t people just let her scream internally in peace? Ugh. Just her luck. Trudging to the door, she mustered the best blank face she could - it wasn’t stellar, but it would do - and let out a deep sigh as she faced the door. The twisting of the door handle matched that of her gut, and she knew that whatever happened next was bound not to be that great in her eyes.

Ah, yes. There he is.

One grumpy, crabby, asshole.

“Well, don’t just stand there, let me the fuck in. I can’t be seen by him.”

He barged past without a second thought, Terezi still standing confused and somewhat dumbstruck in her doorway. Already, she had so many questions. Who was ‘him’? Why was this person at his house? Why did that mean he had to come to her house? Is she the only other person he knew? All reasonable questions she probably wouldn’t get answers to any time soon.

She quickly closed the door and began to walk over to him, her face showing just how confused she actually was about all this - he was honestly making his way into her home way more often these days and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

“So-- uh, who is ‘him’, exactly?”

Karkat gave a groan, practically throwing himself into her couch and slouching down in it. God, he really seemed to be somewhat of a melodramatic kid sometimes (although it was more like most of the time).

“The asshole in question is my overbearing brother.”

“I didn’t even know it was possible for somebody to be more of an asshole than you some days, but I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re related to you.”

Terezi couldn’t help but snicker a little, ignoring the icy glare Karkat was giving that she could feel hitting her face right now. Humor was worth the dislike sometimes.

“Hardy har har. Seriously, he’s a condescending, patronizing asshole who doesn’t approve of anything ever and makes it his mission to let everybody know it.”

“What’ve you done that would make him so douche-y towards you?”

“Um, everything?”

“While I wouldn’t put it past you, I have a feeling that that’s not it.”

An aura of awkwardness developed in the silence, along with some tension from his end that hung around for a few moments longer than it should have before he spoke again - not that she heard him, mumbling quietly and with a hint of anger. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion for a moment before she sat down near him - ooh, closer than usual Terezi, what a risk-taker.

“What’d you say? I didn’t qui--”

“My last relationship fell to shit a couple months ago, I’m still a whiny pissbaby and my brother likes to lecture me about needing to stop moping and get a grip. I’m not going to say anything else, so don’t fucking ask.”

Oh.

Well...

Shit.

The quiet was strained and Terezi seemed to keep finding more and more of these gaps in conversation where everything felt as stretched and strained and tense as an old rubber band.

She should really drop that little habit.

“...I get it. My friend Vriska pisses me off in the same sorta way sometimes.”

“How?”

“To quote, ‘I’m not going to say anything else, so don’t fucking ask.’” She sounded confident enough there right? She should, she’d been practicing not sounding like a nervous basket case when she was being one. Karkat gave an understanding little nod - at least that’s how Terezi saw it. She didn’t exactly wanna see it any other way either. Mutual understanding was a rare thing for her these days.

“So, uh... When were you thinking of leaving? Not that I’m trying to force you out or anything.” What an accommodating host, Terezi.

He gave a shrug and a non-committal grunt as he nestled himself further into the couch like the grump he was. Looks like he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m... gonna go shower or something. Just make yourself comfortable, I guess. Or, more comfortable than you already are.”

That earned a little dry chuckle from him.

“There’s food and leftovers in the kitchen. Help yourself.” She kind of hoped he didn’t help himself too much - groceries were real fucking expensive these days. Terezi didn’t stick around to see what he said, because the vibe she was getting off of him was already awkward enough. She was already halfway up the stairs by the time he could have even thought of turning around, hopefully he didn’t need anything else - she’d probably be gone for a while. After having her hand forced to master well-covering makeup, she’d been utilising it ever since. She was gonna get weird looks if she didn’t.

Terezi locked the bathroom door behind her despite having already locked her bedroom door - good ol’ paranoia - and turned on the water before even getting undressed. Some music and a hot shower was exactly what she needed right now. Stepping into the water, it almost felt like she was shedding her skin as she gently scrubbed at her arms and - whoops, tender spot - got rid of the day’s work. Her head drifted off into other places instead of confronting the marks that were barely starting to fade across her skin, too many reminders of what once was that she didn’t need. No, she firmly kept her mind on track about the grumpy asshole in her living room. He wasn’t actually a bad guy, and she was pretty sure that they were technically friends? He would probably be stubborn enough to call hem acquaintances, but she knew a bit better than that. Not that she minded. It gave her a personal mission, to make him admit that they were friends to someone. Probably his lispy roommate of all people, it’d be funny to hear about that. She was just hoping that she could swallow her pride (more like anxiety) long enough for her to be able to actually sustain a conversation without so much awkwardness and show that she has a personality other than being a bundle of nerves. Maybe even make a couple more friends - his roommate’s girlfriend seemed so nice.

Her playlist had finished, which generally meant she’d been in the shower for a lot longer than she really should for someone who was the only person living here and was therefore responsible for all of her bills.

She’d cross that bridge when she got to it.

Terezi hadn’t taken as much time or care as usual at applying the thin, delicate layers of foundation and concealer and whatever the fuck else made her skin look nice along her arms. She didn’t have the patience, nor did Karkat - then again, he probably relished the time he had on his own. Whatever. As soon as she was satisfied with her paint job (as she liked to call it) she slipped into a thick jumper and her comfiest pair of slacks - probably a little early for that Terezi, but suit yourself - before even thinking about emerging, because glamor was fucking overrated. Sometimes, a girl just wants to lounge around her house in comfy clothes while there’s people over and it’d be over her dead body when someone stopped her.

Besides, this was her space anyway. She should feel how she wants to feel and dress how she wants to dress.

The first thing that hit her nose as she left her bedroom was the smell of food and she was down the stairs as fast as she had ascended them.

“You know, I didn’t think it could get worse than Maroon 5, but it did, jesus fuck.”

She snickered a little bit, shaking her head.

“It’s not that bad, c’mooooon.”

“You’re willingly engrossing yourself in what will be the new wave of gross fucking emo music.”

“So? That’s my choice and you’re in my house, enjoy the numerous pilots I listen to.”

“...I don’t have to enjoy it.”

“Karkat, I say this as a friend - shut the fuck up.” Terezi sat down beside him, laughing a little bit - they both knew he was just grasping at straws for something to bicker about. She found him with a bowl of oven-made chips and the smallest little hint of perhaps even a smirk on his face as she sat, sighing a little bit.

“For people who talk so often on relatively friendly terms, we really don’t know much about each other.”

“Friendly terms? I tolerate you at best.”

“Then why am I the first place you went to when your brother came over? Could’ve gone to Fi’s.”

“You live closer and it’s cold as balls outside. We’re not friends; this is just convenient.”

“How about acquaintances then? I mean, that does fit all the criteria you’re happy to accept, which is that we know each other.”

“...Fine, god. We’re acquaintances. I don’t even see why we have to put a god damn label on it.”

“Because I want to!” Terezi chuckled and Karkat gave her a small little shove aside, although it wasn’t filled with malice. That was a little surprise. “Now, back to my original point,” Terezi could hear a small grumble of ‘just like Sollux,’ come from him as she spoke again. “We don’t know much about each other.”

“We shouldn’t have to.”

“We’ll never become better acquaintances that way, Karkat.”

“You’re... ugh, I regret ever coming here.”

“The door’s over there if you want to go.”

Really, she didn’t want him to leave so fast - he was a bit of an asshole but the banter was fun and a nice change. Something she couldn’t do with people like Vriska, who make it into a competition of showmanship. She didn’t think he’d leave either - his brother would probably see him knowing his luck, and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. Surprisingly he was the one who broke the brief silence with a somewhat audible grumble.

“I’m not saying anything more about myself until you do.”

“That’s fair.” She gave a shrug, taking a few chips from his bowl first before crossing her legs and shifting to face him. He turned his head towards her, hair all over place as always and yet somehow looking organized. Whatever, that wasn’t meant to be her train of thought anyway. “I used to live with my mother and sister around three or so hours away, a couple of towns from here. My mother is a really successful lawyer and is pretty inspiring to me, but not because she raised me. Latula, my sister, is fresh out of college. She helps code and make art for games, skateboards on the side. I don’t see her much but I love her a lot. Her and my mom might come to visit soon. They both helped me move in, just like Vriska did - the one with the fucked up streak in her hair. Sometimes she calls herself AG if she wants to act like a mysterious asshole. She can be nice, but... it’s rare that it takes her fancy to do so. But at least she’s there - that’s what matters, I guess.”

Terezi rested her hands in her lap after that, giving a small little smile; she did miss her family a bit now that she thought about it, but she would rather be on her feet on her own than inundated with family visits. She made a little hand motion forward, as if to say to him ‘your turn,’ and broke him from his puzzled expression. He didn’t even have to groan to make it obvious he didn’t want to do this.

“My dad’s pretty religious. I think he’s eased up a bit now but I don’t talk to him often - don’t really want to either. Just gets my preachy brother on my ass - his name’s Kankri, by the way. Dad’s nice enough though. Did the best he could when we were growing up; we were never dirt poor but we sure as fuck weren’t rich either. Wanted to get out of there so I didn’t have to live in a near shack, so I moved in with Sollux.”

She was surprised he even bothered to open up to her instead of being as stubborn as usual, but it was probably a combination of the late hour and the slight cabin fever they he probably was suffering. “At least things are bettter now, though.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“...You know, I recently got Netflix if you wanna kill time or something. Your choice of movie.” Anything to prevent a disgustingly awkward silence yet a-fucking-gain. He gave a little shrug which she decided to interpret as a yes, grabbing her laptop from the coffee table and logging in. Soon enough she passed it over to him, and she couldn’t help but notice he kept lingering around the romcoms.

“I said it was your choice of movie. We can watch Miss Congeniality if that’s what you want, I don’t care.”

As soon as the words had left her mouth he’d picked something - 13 Going On 30, this was a bad choice - and he’d put it on the coffee table for both their sakes.

“No going back on your word now, shitface.” He laughed a little as he saw the look of discontent on her face and she had no choice but to just sit there and bear it for as long as he hung around.

 

She could already feel her eyelids drooping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope you all enjoyed the chapter, it was hard enough to find the time and motivation to write this among school, depression, work and family all being colossal douchebags.
> 
> next chapter is the aftermath which should be fun  
> expect to feEL
> 
> anyway feel free to leave kudos, comments and bookmarks!! i really enjoy seeing feedback and love  
> and if you haven't heard it today, i love you <3


	13. Con Panna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat finds himself between a couch and a hard place. A very hard, awkward, tense place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S LATE AND BROKE ANOTHER DATE PROMISE AGAIN.
> 
> I'm so sorry I'm so flaky guys. I've really been trying, especially since this chapter is a pretty hefty one - 2800 words! Anyway, I just want to say a few things; firstly, Happy Karezi Day! I'm glad I managed to get this out on time for it, because it's one of my favorite days of the whole damn year. Bless all your souls. <3
> 
> Secondly, happy first birthday to Cats And Coffee! It's hard to think that just over a year ago I had this idea and that I'm still carrying on with it so far on. Thank you all so so much for the unconditional love, support and praise you've all offered over the past year for me and this fic. It's my pride and joy and it means so much to me that so many of you love it and continue to watch it grow. You guys and this story have seen me through times good and bad and I'm glad that I'm here to still see it all unfold. I've met a couple lovely people through it as well who I wouldn't trade for the world (My majestic son Cas and my beautiful smol mother, I'm looking at you guys!).
> 
> Thank you all so much for bearing with me and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

He’d never been a morning person, but waking up today was a hell of a lot more disorientating than usual. A room he’d never slept in and a couch he’d spent too much time on lately and a quiet breathing coming from beside him. The laptop on the coffee table in front of him reflected him and his sleeping buddy far better than any laptop screen has business doing, his hair wilder than usual and, just as he thought, Terezi’s face mashed up against his arm.

He’d woken up slightly sprawled out, an arm dangling lazily over the armrest, legs spread out some. The fact that he was this comfortable was already bad news in his head. But what was even worse was how heavily Terezi was using him for support as she slept - she was curled in on herself, almost as if she was... afraid while she slept. But her face against his arm, as uncomfortable as it looked, was propping her up. It was already bad enough that her asshole friend was the one who unleashed her cat on their yard and now this. Fuuuucking perfect.

There was no other way out of this. All he could do was hope he didn’t fuck this up too badly.

Slowly, he began to sneak his arm upwards, away from Terezi’s face. If everything went well, then he’d get his arm out, her head will move down to the couch cushions, everybody is comfortable and not using one another as a prop. So far it was looking good, her face sliding gradually downward. Yikes, that didn’t look that pleasant - at least she seemed to be a deep sleeper, if her soft little snores on occasion were anything to go by. Wait, why are you focusing on her snores? Focus on getting yourself the fuck out of here, Karkat, god.

Just a couple inches more, aaand...

 

_Clunk._

 

As he felt her cheekbone firmly connect with his hip, he was muttering every expletive that came to mind under his breath with her pained, annoyed and most of all tired grumblings acting as a backing track. Her eyes, despite being so tightly squeezed together, had a couple droplets brimming at them and he had his face in his hands mumbling something along the lines of “Fuck, sorry, jesus fucking christ, sorry...”

Her face was already beginning to redden and swell somewhat and Karkat just had the inexplicable urge to bail out right the fuck now, but it was far too late and they both knew it.

“Mrgh, what the _fuck_ , Karkat.. How long have you been here? What time even is it?”  
  
“Ugh, I knew that I shouldn’t have watched a god damn movie with you. You’ve got a swollen face, I feel more like an asshole than usual - which, may I remind you, is hard to do, so I’d feel special if I were you - and just... Oh shit, what are Sollux and Aradia gonna say about this? Jesus fucking christ, they’re gonna be such assholes over this, just my fucking luck.”

Terezi, on the other hand, had been continuously grumbling to accompany the leading and incredibly prominent vocal line that was Karkat’s somewhat garbled train of thought that he was spilling out into the open air. Made them a little more alike, really. Karkat acknowledged this offhandedly in the back of his mind but made sure to keep it there. The last thing he wanted to do right now was focus on her and the increasing mess she brought into his life just by being around.

“Look, can you take a break from your self-lament for a couple moments to shut the fuck up, tell me the time and get me some ice? My face is throbbing like a bitch.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever... Sorry.” The last part of his sentence was mumbled quietly, feeling somewhat guilty but still not wanting to admit it, because he was Karkat and that was what Karkat did best. The best he’d do was be grumpily helpful in recompense, probably.

He trudged his way toward her kitchen, grabbing her an ice pack right out of the freezer which he only now noticed was surprisingly bare - save for a few bags of vegetables and the like. For someone who’d been living here for a little while, he was genuinely surprised at how she still hadn’t seem to have settled in. A quick sweep of his eyes around the room and he still caught sight of a couple boxes here and there, clothes in odd places, not much dinnerware. He couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck was up with that, but he pushed it aside for the meantime. He’d already stuck around and pried into her business for long enough at this point and he just wanted to make sure she was okay and leave.

Karkat dumped the ice pack in her lap with a distinct lack of finesse and concern seemingly, although the latter was a bit more of a front than he’d like to admit. Whatever. Don’t hang around for too much longer, Karkat. You’ve already told yourself this. Slowly he lowered himself back into his spot, Terezi having scooted all the way over towards the other end of the couch. She was leaning up on the corner between the chair backing and the armrest, taking a break from gently rubbing at her face to glance down at the ice pack with a little frown before picking it up and holding it to her cheekbone in awkward silence.

“So--”

“I, uh--”

They’d both gone to speak at the same time, stopping as soon as they registered the other’s voice. It took a couple moments before Karkat decided to try that incredibly awful execution again.

“...So, how’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good, I guess. At least until someone decided to let my face slam into their hip, heh.”

That got a little bit of a chuckle out of him. That was good, considering the circumstance and how much he kind of just wanted to avoid all the shit he was gonna face when he got home.

“Yeah, uh... Sorry about that.”

“Karkat, it’s fine, shit happens. Just stop apologizing, it’s okay.”

A heavy sigh left him, partially to add to the effect of the stiff and hard to navigate atmosphere, but also out of a bit of relief. Jesus, when did he give a singular shit about her wellbeing? He needed to knock some sense into himself.

“..Where’s your bathroom?”

“Through my room. Up the stairs, turn left.”

“Thanks.”

And as quickly as he’d wanted to get into the house the night before, he walked at the fastest pace he could up those stairs and into her room -- well, almost into her room. A few steps forward he was blocked by god knows what, but there was clothes and trinkets and the like everywhere. There was a few clean patches where it was evident she had tried to tidy up, but it looked like she just never got around to it. Instead of trying to navigate his way through the mess and likely break something, he decided to side with common sense (at least in Karkat’s eyes) and tell her about it. He got halfway down the stairs before he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer.

“Okay Terezi, look, I know you moved here like, what, almost a month ago? But that doesn’t mean that you can just perpetually have your shit everywhere because I feel like I just walked in on the **biggest** clusterfuck I’ve seen in my life and I’ve seen quite a few in my time around here.”

Terezi gave a barely visible, yet nonchalant shrug. Little shit.

“It’s been worse, I don’t get what’s wrong.”

“ _What’s wrong!?_ It’s-- Jesus fucking Christ, you know what, I’ll fucking help you clean up this sack of shit if that’s what it takes. My house may be a shithole but even I don’t live like this.”

Terezi shook her head almost instantaneously at the offer, chuckling a little. “For one, I don’t know if all of this can possibly be cleaned up,” She turned towards him with eyebrows raised high and a smirk of slight disbelief. “let alone managed with or without help.”

“We’re gonna fucking try! God, I sound like Kankri, ugh.”

“Why are we gonna try, Karkat? Please, enlighten me as to why I don’t just tell you to fuck off right here and now. You already bruised up my face.”  
  
“Hey, that was an accident and you know it, shithead. Anyway, just- Look, if I can’t stand to be breathing the stale air in this house laced with your dead skin and a _**likely** _ case of toxic mold, then neither can you.” The way he said it was an odd mix of disgust, frustration and genuine concern. It was almost foreign hearing it spill out of his mouth, but at this point he didn’t think twice because today was a weird enough morning as it was. Was it morning? He honestly had no fucking idea anymore at this point. He heaved a deep sigh, approaching the couch once more and setting his hands onto the backing as he looked down at Terezi, the look on his face matching her own one of slight surprise and mild acceptance. “So, where are we going to start, loser?”

She was quiet for a moment, making sure to carefully think and consider. He could assume that nobody else had offered her help judging from the sheer lack of activity in her house and the fact that it’d been almost a month yet the place still looked that. It was safe to say she was probably gonna accept his help.

“We’ll start with my room, I guess. It’s kinda ground zero.”

“Yeah. I guessed as much.”

“Aren’t you a keen observer.” She pulled herself up off the couch - it looked like it’d taken a surprising amount of effort, geez - and started trudging her way up the stairs more sluggishly than Karkat had. To say she was reluctant was an understatement. He followed up after her, it was her room after all, and tried to keep a level head. Nothing was gonna get done if he kept getting frustrated with the fact that she was content living like this, anyway. By the time he’d gotten up the stairs she’d already been in her room for a few moments, already having begun moving a few piles of clothes into a communal one. While it didn’t really make much difference overall, at least it allowed him room to fucking walk. He may as well help out.

Lift, turn, drop, turn, lift, turn, drop, turn.

Each and every pile seemed to spawn more piles as he shifted shit aside because holy crap, how can all this even manifest in one room? Something caught his eye from underneath the latest pile of crappy clothes - god, did she even wear any of these? - that gave a little bit of a faint sparkle in the dim light. He put the things in his hands in the pile, which was threatening to spill over any minute, but he didn’t care right now. Karkat was delicate in lifting it up, not sure how well the chain had kept. There were rust spots here and there on it, so he had to be sure. He held the pendant of the necklace in his palm, being gentle as he examined it - purple, in a little heart shape, with sticky spots and gunk on it. Did she even know this was here? He glanced over at her, thinking she wouldn’t be facing him, but she was and her face was mortified. Scared, even. Had he done something wrong?

“What even is this Terezi? Did you lose it or something?”

In almost an instant she darted over, snatching the necklace out of his hand without a single word and tears threatening to spill over.

“Terezi, what--”

“It’s from a long time ago, okay? It’s nothing.” Her hands were shaking as she glanced down at it, then back around the room repeatedly. What the fuck?

“It’s from my ex, alright!?”

Shit, looks like he’d said a little more than he’d thought. Again. But at least it let him understand, at least a little if not fully. The wounds that his own ex had inflicted still hadn’t healed - not at fucking all - and all he could see in her right now was a little bit of himself.

That hurt him. Scared him. Made him want to tell her it was alright, because he didn’t feel like he had the right person to do that when it happened to him.

He stood back and watched as she threw that memory into a box and shoved it under her bed, watched her mumble and stutter to him quickly and hurriedly that it wasn’t important, it didn’t matter, that it was all in the past, that she was being stupid about all this. He couldn’t help but be a little dumbstruck still.

“...I get that, y’know.”

All of a sudden she looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Silence fell between the two of them and all of a sudden he felt his throat tighten a little.

“My... My ex left me pretty jilted herself.”

“...What’d she do?”

Karkat couldn’t meet her eyes right now, scared he’d see judgment in them like he saw every fucking time he looked into the mirror, telling him that he was inadequate. All he could do was hesitate, mumbling the answer only just loud and clear enough for her to possibly hear.

“She cheated on me and left me for him.”

Terezi shifted uncomfortably on her feet, fiddling with her hands with a look that mixed sadness and sympathy in a beautiful ratio.

“What... What’d he do to you?”

All she could do was shake her head with a sniffle, wiping her eyes a little bit before looking back up at him with a wide, barely holding smile.

“I really, really don’t wanna talk about it.” They both gave a little, quiet chuckle at that. He gave a tiny shrug, trying to crack an awkward smile back up at her. For once in Karkat’s life he was about to think through something before it came out of his mouth, let alone show the first somewhat significant amount of respect for someone’s boundaries in his puny little life.

“That’s fine; it’s your business anyway, not mine.”

“Thanks..”

“It’s alright, really.”

Karkat felt odd and strangely... free after their little bonding moment. Was that the word for it? He had no idea - he was still reeling from the fact that he’d opened up to someone for the first time in god knows how long about that shitty ass breakup. It was kind of nice to finally be honest about it, even if it was just in small doses. Maybe Aradia was onto something? He should probably listen to her advice far more often, actually.

“Hey, uh... Karkat?”

He broke his train of thought, a couple blinks bringing him out of his own self-induced trance. But it was nary a few moments after he looked up with a little hum of acknowledgement that her arms were around him and oh dear god what was she doing is she okay this feels really awkward and weird did he do something. He could feel the tension bundled up through her without even putting any effort to it and he was honestly lost on what he should do in this scenario.

“I’m sorry about what your ex did. Sh-She sounds like kind of a bitch.”

In some ways she was wrong, but in others she was all too right. Karkat couldn’t help but give out a quiet, dry little chuckle, shaking his head some as he slowly, cautiously put his arms around her in return with the lightest pressure. She was kind of delicate and he didn’t exactly want to crush her - not that he was mister strongman or anything.

“Dude, it’s not your fault. Besides, it doesn’t seem like your ex could have been any better.”

It was her turn to laugh now, although it was through somewhat pained tears. It felt like there might be a bit of positivity in them in a way, though. She moved her arms from around him and his instantly recoiled in turn, Terezi busy wiping her eyes for what was far too many times than she should have been doing so this morning.

“Heh, yeah, you can say that again.”

He moved a hand to her shoulder, mustering the most sincere expression with a deep breath and some intense apprehension.

“Just try not to cry, alright? Assholes like him don’t deserve tears, least of all yours.”

Giving a slight nod she mumbled hasty apologies, ready to launch into just a tad more inner self-loathing.

“Don’t apologise, it’s fine, really. Just focus on cleaning up with me, you don’t need that shit on your mind.”

With that he opened her blinds, kind of thrown a little by the sudden flood of natural light, but he didn’t mind. He could see a hint of a smile on her lips and he gave a little one back himself.

 

Cleaning wasn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter - a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into chipping away at it despite everything. Next chapter we get a little more interaction with the Pyrope family, namely Latula. I hope to update ASAP, but senior studies and unstable mental health leave that up in the air.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the past year and the continued love and support you give me and CaC. Please keep leaving kudos, comments and feedback because I love hearing from you guys. If you ever want to message me directly, my contact info is in my profile. I'd love to hear from you all!
> 
> Also, please please PLEASE check out this (http://smoltrash69.tumblr.com/post/149819634868/terezi-from-tunaababees-fanfic-cats-and-coffee) lovely drawing of Terezi done for me by my wonderful smol mother, it's actually so accurate I love it. I'm a sucker for fanart. F E E D M E.
> 
> I can't say thank you enough to you guys for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful day and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


	14. Snowshoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Latula decides to pay her little sister a visit and remind her how far she's come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after about a year of literally no news; I am alive, surprisingly! Sorry for the long radio silence, it'll be explained better in the end notes.
> 
> Regardless, I really hope y'all enjoy this new chapter!

Nodding a gentle thank you at the person who set down their snacks and drinks, Terezi looked over at her sister across the table with some slight confusion - especially as she looked between the amount of food her sister had ordered in comparison to herself. Terezi had a single, reasonable sweet in front of her while Latula had paid for and laid herself out a whole spread. She laughed quietly, Latula’s eyebrows quirking at her.

“Hey, I know that look and I know you’re judging me, but I haven’t eaten today so I could get here on time for this little casual lunch date. I swear, with traffic it takes almost three hours to get here. You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. How’s mom doing? I haven’t heard from her lately, which is kinda weird considering she’s been ringing pretty much every week.”

“ _Busy_. She’s been flat out with work lately, I’m almost convinced she’s gonna develop a bald spot or something.” The last half of her sentence was slightly muffled, Latula having begun to shove almost a whole chocolate cupcake into her mouth. Classy. At least she was happy, and seeing her at her usual somewhat sloppy but lighthearted idiocy was a nice change of pace. Nothing overly disrupting, but enough to keep it fresh. Considering she’d been here around a month or so, Terezi had finally fallen into a routine of sorts - work four days a week, use the other three days to take care of stuff around the house, attempt (poorly) to look after herself at least a little, banter with Karkat, stave off Vriska as best she could and lead a humdrum but blissfully calm lifestyle. Routine had always meant safety to her, a value firmly driven into her by her mother from an early age. Probably where she got her knack for being overly pedantic too, but not everybody gets all the good traits. She could see that just from looking over across the table at her sister scarfing down almost everything in sight that was edible. She’d probably eat the leftovers of the tables around them if it was socially acceptable, let alone if she’d let her.

“I hope it eases up for her soon, I don’t want her working herself to the bone... You remember the time she almost passed out after trying to work a practically unworkable case for a solid two weeks before her boss forced her to take a week off.”

“I’ll make sure to -- god, this caramel slice is good -- make sure to pass on the worry for you.” Latula paused, taking a moment to get the crumbs off of her fingers to savour the last of this particular plate. What a fucking loser, bless her heart. “But hey, dude, look at you go now. You’re comfortably sitting here in this brand new area which you’ve only been in for... what, a month max? It’s almost like you’re a changed woman, heh.”

Terezi rolled her eyes a little at that, lightly nudging her sister’s shin under the table with a small smile. The fact that she was so comfortable was definitely helped by the fact that Tula was here, but also that they were just on the same strip that Terezi walked through most days to go to work. Although she’d rather die than actually risk people she interacts with on a regular basis getting to know her family just yet; this hole in the wall little cafe not too far from it though? That was nice and cosy enough.

“You know very well more than anybody that I’m still a gross nervous, fidgety wreck underneath, no need to lie.”

“No, I’m serious! Like seriously, you might not see it because you live with yourself every day unlike the rest of us, but you’ve actually made some radical progress. Especially since last time I saw you. I mean, I didn’t wanna visit every other week or anything because the last thing I wanna do is impede while you’re trying to get yourself on your feet at least a little. I know that being independent is a big thing for you.”

A little bit of shame rose up in that. It was stupid that she even felt remotely ashamed for it, but it always came off as stubbornness rather than determination (which wasn’t always completely wrong, mind you) and people weren’t always the kindest about it. Especially as time went on. Her thoughts were broken when Latula reached out across the table, nudging her chin up lightly to get her to look back at her.

“Think about it, dude. You got yourself a clean house, a couple friends, a job. You’re doing really fuckin’ good and I’m proud.”

“...Thanks, Tula. I’m still a bit uneasy about it all and I still don’t really believe it but you’re my sister and even if I don’t believe I still trust you. I really appreciate the gesture, loser.” It felt like one of those weird cliche moments where Terezi needed to fulfil the whole picture perfect movie moment where the meaningful bonding would be encapsulated with a firm hand hold and some more sisterly bullshit, but the thought was honestly a little weird and kinda sickening.

“It’s no problem, you know that. Now, tell me more about this job! Can’t believe you’re a barrister or whatever it’s called.”

“Barista. Barrister is closer to what mom does.”

“Shh, you know I’m bad with titles. But that one, yeah, tell me about it. Is it eventful? Any perks?”

“I guess discounts on the instant coffee we sell counts, but other than that it’s nothing too special. We mostly get regulars around the place though and it’s nice. My neighbours tend to come around a fair bit, actually. Y’know, the ones on the left of my place? The ones on the right seem a little high and mighty, but then again I’ve never actually talked to them and just see the way they carry themselves.”

“The ones who come through the coffee shop are the ones you’re all buddy-buddy with, right?”

“Yeah! I mean, it’s mostly just one of the three but every now and then I’ll see Aradia come through and pick up a cup of coffee and read some sort of historical text or other. Sometimes her other half Sollux comes with her if she can drag him out of his room or away from whatever he’s doing, whether it’s in the house or out in town. He’s a good guy though, even if he’s a bit grumpy. I mean, it’s easier to deal with people in general when you’ve got a job to distract you and give you something to do, y’know? He’s got nothing compared to his friend though.”

“Oh? Is this the one you told mom kept bothering you because he kept insisting your cat was too loud?”

“She wasn’t even _in_ his god damn yard, I don’t understand _how_ he could have complained about that. But yeah, him. He works at like, the local GameStop or something I think? Regardless, he fucking hates it and he stops in after work almost every time he has a shift, so he’s **always** in a shitty mood. It’s funny to stir the pot a little when he’s around though, it makes a fun shift. Even if it’s just half-assed snark or looking at him the wrong way or fucking with his already ridiculous hair as you pass by or something, just simple stuff. It’s so easy to set him off.

He can be a funny guy when he wants to be, though. We talk on Pesterchum a lot, although it’s mostly him complaining. He really doesn’t like much at all, even his family which is kind of understandable I guess? I mean, everybody’s situation is different, so. I think he said his brother’s name was Kankri? You might know him I guess, it sounded famili--”

“So, you really like this kid, huh?” A mischievous smirk that Terezi knew all too well, one passed down from her mother to both Latula and herself, curled up on her face. Her eyebrows were quirked and she couldn’t help but frown slightly in response, trying to pretend that there wasn’t any embarrassment clearly written all over her.

God, she hated the fact that her body’s reaction to far too many situations was to blush like an immature schoolgirl.

“What the fuck are you talking about. Why would you ask that?”

The smirk turned into an incredibly joyful expression that Terezi was coming to be not so fond of right now.

“ _ **Awww**_ , here only a month and you already have a crush! That’s adorable, Tez.”

“ _Tula, no, what the fuck. That’s literally not what’s happening here at all._ ” She was almost certain that Latula could feel how fiercely she was glowering at her from across the table with stern disapproval, a couple patrons inside even glancing at her through the window before promptly returning their gazes to their coffee in the event that she did something insane. She could leap through the window and strangle them, for all these poor onlookers knew.

She was definitely ready to do so to Latula -- in the most loving and sibling-like way, of course.

“He and the people he lives with are literally the only people around here who I’ve even **remotely** gotten to know, and even then I don’t see his housemates much because they don’t work nearby. I’d have their Pesterchums by now if I wasn’t a complete chicken shit.”

Latula simply shook her head a little, finishing up the last of her coffee with a gentle chuckle. They were both staring each other directly down - there was no animosity between them, but anybody could tell that Terezi most definitely was not the happiest about the turn this conversation had taken and Latula looked far, far too satisfied with herself.

“Fine, fine, whatever, I’ll take your word for it. He does at **least** seem like a pretty decent friend though, hm?”

Brushing some hair out of her face, Terezi did her best to laugh it off. “Yeah, you’ve at least got a point there. If you ask him, he’d rather call it an ‘acquaintanceship’.”

“Whatever works for you young wacky kids these days.” Terezi began to stack up some of the plates; she couldn’t help but feel bad for the wait staff having to deal with all the plates her sister had left behind - god knows she hated it when people did the same thing to her and had everything everywhere.

“How’s Vriska, by the way? I know she said she was gonna keep an eye on you, although me and mom weren’t one hundred percent okay with the idea.”

Shit. Instant discomfort emanated from her in her body language, Terezi curling in on herself a little bit.

“Uh... Good, I guess. It’s just been tense lately. Found out she let Nep into Karkat’s yard just for a laugh which pissed me off. We kinda got into a bit of an argument about it and she called me.. She called me ‘Rezi.”

Latula already knew there wasn’t gonna be any good news simply from the way she was acting as she talked about it, but as soon as the words left her lips Latula’s eyes widened a little and her face contorted in both concern and anger. Mostly the former, but there was no way she was able to hide the latter.

“Are you okay? Did you do anything after?”

“No. No, no, no, no, I just went to go and get Nep. I’d be lying if it didn’t fucking think about it, though. It felt like everything came rushing back into my life for a moment though. I felt so disgusting.”

Latula’s hand reached over, grasping onto Terezi’s firmly to the point where her knuckles were a little white. To say Latula was fucking _**pissed**_ was an understatement.

“I’ll talk to her, okay? You don’t need to worry about anything, least of all her bullshit right now. What’s important is that you try not to dwell on the past too much right now.”

“I’m trying. But it’s so god damn hard having to pretend everyday that I’m not some kind of damaged property that’s been through shit. I have to layer parts of myself that shouldn’t need makeup with a whole hell of a lot just so that nobody accidentally sees an old scar or any last remnants of tough bruises, I have to push every single old memory of home back because otherwise I risk throwing up and I have to pretend that I don’t keep all that baggage in a shitty little cardboard box under my bed.”

She sounded angry, but it was more frustrated. Everything about her situation and the way she came into everything she has right now frustrated her.

“Hey. You’re not in this alone, dude. You’ve got Karkat and the other roommates he lives with who are your friends, your work colleagues, and you have mom and I. Especially me. I still haven’t told her just how bad everything got, just like you asked me to, and I won’t ever go behind your back like that. I know she’s a bit harsh even when she means well. You’ve got people in your corner, Tez.”

She sighed a little heavily, feeling as if a little bit of worry had been lifted from her shoulders. Terezi couldn’t help but worry that it’d just gone straight from her shoulders onto her sister’s, though.

She didn’t want that for her. Everybody has their own problems, and she didn’t wanna weigh anybody down.

“That means a lot, Tula... Thank you. I know mom’s trying her best despite everything.”

A chime from Terezi’s back pocket interrupted Latula before she could say anything, an unfamiliar name having popped up on the screen in her Pesterchum notifications as she checked out what was going on.

 

\-- apocalypseArisen [AA] started pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 1:17PM EST! --  
  
AA: hi terezi its aradia!  
  
AA: sorry if i scared you or anything but karkat gave me your chumhandle after some pestering because i needed it for a super cool secret mission  
  
AA: i have to ask you a very important question!  
  
GC: OH H3Y, WH4T D1D YOU N33D? 1S 3V3RYTH1NG 4LR1GHT?  
  
AA: everythings actually pretty dandy so no need to worry about that 0u0  
  
AA: i just wanted to know if youre busy at all today or in the next few days?  
  
AA: specifically anywhere from around today to maybe friday at most  
  
GC: 1 4CTU4LLY H4V3 TH3 D4Y OFF OF WORK TOD4Y BUT 1M WORK1NG W3DN3SD4Y 4ND FR1D4Y  
  
GC: WH1CH 1S PR3TTY GROSS 1N MY OP1N1ON BUT 4 G1RL’S GOTT4 34RN 4 L1V1NG 4ND P4Y R3NT 4ND SH1T  
  
AA: i just wanted to know if you wanted to come ice skating with sollux karkat and i!!  
  
AA: youve been here only a month or so  
  
AA: at least thats what sollux says  
  
AA: and youve been working pretty hard so i figured itd be nice if you could come out with us and have some fun!  
  
AA: if youre up for it today we could leave in the next hour or two

Terezi was conflicted; it’s not like Latula was in town everyday, but at the same time, it’s not like she got invited by her neighbours to go ice skating every single day either. But leaving Latula would be a really shitty move, wouldn’t it? Ditching your family for friends was always considered impolite and this was no different. On the other side of the coin, who knew when she was gonna get invited out again, let alone if she was ever gonna get invited out again. Saying no could blow it.

Latula could feel the conflict arising within her, though.

“Sis, what’s got you looking so concerned? Was it some weird scam email from a Nigerian prince?”

“No, no, I just... Aradia’s invited me out to go ice skating with her, Sollux and Karkat. Like, I kinda wanna go because who knows if or when I’ll be invited out again, but at the same time I don’t wanna clam up and be all anxious on them. Plus it’s a huge piece of shit move to just ditch you after you driving three hours for these people I barely know and--”

“Terezi.”

She looked up from her hands, having stopped frantically gesturing and gently shaking as Latula called her to attention. She knew that look.

It’s her ‘you’re overthinking this into something bigger than it is,’ look.

“Go out and have some fun. God fuckin’ _knows_ out of all people you deserve it. Have a break and chill out and don’t worry about me. It was nice enough just getting to chat with you, I missed you!”

“Are you sure?”

“I am absolutely, one hundred percent certain. Pyrope pinky promise.”

She forgot about the Pyrope pinky promise - since their family prided themselves on honesty, a Pyrope pinky promise was the highest way of expressing your absolute transparency and certainty in any matter, and it meant you had to mean it and follow through no matter what.

Terezi locked her pinky finger with hers, standing up with Latula and giving her a tight hug as she did.

“I love you a lot, y’know.”

“I love you a lot too, dingus. But hey, before you get too excited, have my chumhandle, okay? Even if I can’t always drive up here, you know I’m pretty much always online. You can always, always message me.”

Latula fished a pen out of her bag, slipping her sunglasses onto her face as she messily scrawled out ‘gnarlyCamouflage >8]’ onto the cafe napkin and shoved it into her hand. Terezi made sure to add her - she was forgetful, so she was better doing it now - before messaging Aradia back.

 

GC: 1M H4PPY TO GO TOD4Y >:]  
  
GC: DO YOU W4NT M3 TO M33T YOU 4T YOUR HOUS3?

With a wave and a beaming smile, she started the walk back to her house with an extra little spring in her step.

 

Hopefully she wouldn’t fall on her ass too hard in the rink later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's nice to see you guys again! I've missed writing for a long time and I'm sorry I haven't delivered on an update until now. I made a Tumblr post explaining why I've been gone this past year in more detail (http://tunaababee.tumblr.com/post/162748955432/cats-and-coffee-update-and-why-ive-been-on), but in the event you're lacking the time or patience to read it...
> 
> TL;DR - I was gone because:  
> > My mental health significantly worsened.  
> > I struggled with school to the point where I've dropped out.  
> > I was trying to make some actual friends and get myself together.
> 
> Regardless, this chapter was really super fun to write and I'm honestly just really glad to be back on AO3. I haven't missed coding pesterlogs, though. Fuck that. Please feel free to leave comments, thoughts and criticism, it really makes my day!
> 
> I hope you have a great day and if you haven't heard it today, I love you. <3


End file.
